


Is There Anyone More Ambitious Than the Servant Who Seeks to Rise in Station?

by AntagonizedPenguin



Series: How Best to Use a Sword [13]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Ambition, Blow Jobs, Enthrallment, Hand Jobs, Laundry, M/M, Manipulation, Mind Control, Servants, Sex, Tentacles, power, some dubcon, wet dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-06-18 13:56:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15487335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AntagonizedPenguin/pseuds/AntagonizedPenguin
Summary: Drew's life isn't that bad. He's got a job as a servant and a crush on a boy and it's not that complicated. He's content.But content isn't enough. He wants more. And in the little town of Techen's Stand, he's about to be offered far, far more.





	1. Is There Anyone More Ambitious Than the Servant Who Seeks to Rise in Station?

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to another new story! This time featuring a character I expect nobody has paid much attention to up until now. As usual, this story can be read apart from the rest of the series, so no worries if this is your first foray into my world. 
> 
> In a first for me, this story is already entirely written! I wrote it all longhand while visiting my parents, and have it all typed up and ready to post over the next several weeks! I'm really excited for this one, it's got a lot of good stuff in it, promise. :)
> 
> I'm going to be upfront here and say: I'll be adding more tags later in the story, so beware that. I have a dubcon tag up there now, and the dubcon never becomes outright noncon, but there is a degree to which consent is questionable at certain times in the story for various reasons, which will become clear later on. There's not going to be any violent rape or anything at all like that, but just be warned of that. I'll give more details in a few chapters when it won't be a huge spoiler to explain what I mean. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy Drew's adventures in Techen's Stand!

“Ah…”

Drew wasn’t an idiot, no matter what people thought. 

“You like that?” 

“Yeah….”

He understood how the world worked, and he knew where in it he stood. 

“You getting close? You’re leaking.” 

“I’m…I’m almost…”

Very near the bottom, that was Drew’s place. Not as low as others, but low. He was a servant, an attendant. He didn’t even have an official function or title. He was just an errand boy. He dusted and cleaned dishes and weeded and took care of horses. He did it in a castle, which was the only status he could be said to have. But he was still only there to do laundry. 

“Ah, Stuart, I…”

“Let it out, kid.” 

Drew did, shooting his cum, body tensing up in Stuart’s lap. Stuart pointed him away from them, angling Drew’s dick downwards so he shot on the sparse grass. 

Stuart chuckled. “I think you’re shooting more than you used to.”

“Th-thanks,” Drew said, a little woozy. 

Laundry was why he was here, and Drew knew that. He wasn’t stupid. Stuart was a nice guy, but he didn’t really care about Drew. He just wanted someone to wash his clothes so he didn’t have to, and he figured he could get that with some compliments and a handjob every few days. 

“Heh. You’re so cute.” Stuart kissed him on the cheek. 

Drew blushed. Stuart wasn’t wrong. Even if Drew knew why he was doing it, he liked the compliments and Stuart’s hand was better than his own. “Thanks,” he muttered, shifting a little in Stuart’s lap, feeling his boner. Biting his lip, Drew put his hand over the bulge. “Should I…”

“Only if you want to.” 

Stuart always said that. Drew wondered what would happen if he said he didn’t want to. Probably nothing, since Stuart still would want his laundry done. Drew wasn’t in any danger with Stuart, he knew that. Stuart was a bit pushy, but he wouldn’t force Drew. 

So Drew smiled, climbed out of Stuart’s lap and, careful to avoid the spot of cum on the grass, knelt between Stuart’s legs, unlacing the pants he’d washed the other day. Smiling the whole time, Drew took him out of his pants and gave him a good stroke before licking the fluid that had already gathered at Stuart’s head and then sliding his lips down over Stuart. 

Some boys talked about sucking dick like it was gross. Drew didn’t mind it. It wasn’t his favourite thing, mostly because it was kind of boring, but it was an easy way to make Stuart like him, and people liking him was always a good thing. 

Especially the prince’s bodyguards. Stuart was the only one who did this with him, but Holly always smiled and asked how he was doing. And Edwin as friendly if a little gruff. The others mostly ignored him, but three out of eight wasn’t bad. 

And the prince-consort, Sir Owen, seemed to like him, His ornery horse Dinner—a name Drew privately thought was hilarious—seemed to like Drew, so Drew had sort of become his handler, and Sir Owen always said how impressed he was. Even Prince Gavin had smiled at him when they’d gotten to Techen’s Stand yesterday and he’d led Dinner away to the stables. 

“Ah, Drew…that’s good…”

That was also nice to hear. Lots of servants sucked dick here and there when it was convenient, but he’d never done it before Stuart. Drew liked to suck pretty gently so he didn’t take too much in and choke, but he knew Stuart liked it a bit harder, so harder he went, but carefully. 

“Oh, man…” Stuart’s hand came to rest in Drew’s hair, pushing him down just a bit farther.

Blowing Stuart didn’t really get him anything but gratitude and a mouthful of cum, but that was okay. Drew considered it practice. He’d hoped that maybe someday he could offer something like this to Sir Owen, who didn’t have a squire to do it for him, or even for the prince. Everyone said they both really liked sex, and that was true if the amount of times Drew had overheard them and walked in on them was any indication. But they were so interested in each other that Drew was pretty sure that wasn’t going to happen. It was like there was a threat connecting them, one that Drew couldn’t break—and wouldn’t—if he tried. 

Stuart moved his hips, bucking up into Drew, too much. Drew choked, pulled back a bit. “Sorry…” Stuart said, his hand keeping Drew there. “Won’t happen again…”

Drew nodded, went back to sucking. He considered this practice. If not for Sir Owen or the prince, then for Frederick. 

They were the same age, but Fredrick was everything Drew wanted to be. He was so composed and competent and smart, and he’d only gotten more so since Prince Franz had taken him on as a page. Not to mention he was cute as hell. Drew would absolutely suck his dick if he asked. He’d do just about anything if Frederick asked. 

When Frederick had offered to bathe with him a while back, that had been enough on its own to fuel Drew’s daydreams for months. He’d been so distracted trying not to visualize all the things that he’d hoped could happen with them all alone in the bath, that Drew had hardly paid attention to what Frederick had been saying until he’d heard Frederick ask if he was interested in being something other than just an errand boy. 

Drew never really had been until then, but with the suggestion, something had awakened in him. He did. He did want to be more than he was. He wanted to be someone important, someone with a title. Someone like Frederick. 

Frederick had put his hand on the back of Drew’s neck for a second, slid it down his back, and smiled. “I hope you get the chance someday,” he’d said. 

Drew’s neck had tingled every time he thought of that smile ever since. In all his fantasizing about that bath and what might have happened, nothing had hit him harder than that smile. 

When Drew had been told he was going to be one of Gavin’s attendants for his trip to Pelican Bay, he’d known it was Frederick. He wasn’t stupid, and Frederick was competent. He’d gotten Drew the job. And when, as they’d been leaving, Frederick had held Drew’s hand, smiled again and asked him to keep a close eye on the prince, Drew had understood what he was really asking. Someone had tried to poison the prince not long ago. Drew understood why Frederick had given him this job. 

“God, I’m about to…”

Someday Drew would do this for Frederick. He’d make Frederick happy like this. He was going to do a good job, he was going to keep the prince safe and he was going to be impressive enough that Gavin would make Drew his page, just like Frederick was Prince Franz’s page. Franz and Gavin were going to be brothers, so that would make Frederick and Drew…something. Something that Drew wanted. 

“Drew…fuck.” Stuart started to cum, hot liquid searing Drew’s tongue, and Drew did his best to swallow, pretending it was Frederick filling him with salty heat. When they got back and Drew was Gavin’s page, Frederick was going to be proud of him, and he’d smile and hold his hand, an maybe even hug him, and he’d tell Drew he did a good job and then they’d have another bath together where…

Drew moaned around Stuart’s dick as he came too, not even having realized that he’d been jerking off. He shot onto the grass again, some of Stuart’s cum running down his chin as he opened his mouth to let the noise out. 

“Fuck…” Stuart said, leaning back as Drew lifted his head, letting Stuart slide out of his mouth. He swallowed, returning the smile Stuart gave him, and helped Stuart back into his pants before doing up his own. 

Stuart helped Drew stand, reaching and wiping Drew’s chin with a finger. “You really are cute, you know, Drew.”

Drew smiled wider. Stuart didn’t care about him, but he didn’t care about Stuart either. They were just a means to an end for each other. “You’re a real handsome guy, Stuart,” he said, which was true, but Drew hadn’t paid that much attention. 

“You were jerking off while you sucked me,” Stuart said, still red in the face. “Didn’t realize you enjoyed it that much.” 

Drew reddened. He’d hoped that Stuart hadn’t noticed that. “I really like you. And I like that you’re so nice to me.”

“Well, you deserve it.” Stuart brushed Drew’s cheek with a thumb, looking contemplative. Then he leaned in and kissed Drew’s cheek. “I ought to get back. See you tomorrow.” 

Laundry day was tomorrow. Drew nodded. “See you.” 

Stuart nodded at the agreement, then turned and went back into he inn, leaving Drew in the little patch of dirt out behind it. 

“Hm…” a voice said, just as Drew was about to head in as well. 

Drew span around. “Who’s there?” he asked. He didn’t recognize the voice at all, but still he was afraid. If it got back to the wrong person what had just happened, Drew could end up with a reputation he wasn’t looking for. 

Laughter, coming from the air. “He’s right. You are cute.” 

“Where…”

“Don’t worry about that,” the voice said, fading now into the mountain breeze. Drew felt himself relax, agreeing not to worry. “I’ll see you again soon…” 

The voice vanished, leaving Drew alone. 

Whatever. He wasn’t worried. He had more important things to think about than a voice that was probably just his imagination or something. 

Drew took a breath, turned around and went inside to make sure that prince didn’t need anything.


	2. Those Who Claim to Want Nothing are Usually Those Who Want the Most

“You’re always working.” 

Drew looked up from the prince’s shirt and smiled at Hope. He was the inn’s serving boy, not to mention scullion and launderer when needed. He was very northern, sturdy and a bit square, and he had a girl’s name, which Drew thought was the reason he talked in such a deep voice that was obviously not his. But he was nice, and Drew liked him. “Well, there’s always work to do,” Drew said, gesturing at Gavin’s laundry, nearly finished, and at Stuart’s and Sir David’s in the other bucket. 

“Still,” Hope said, wringing out the sheet he was washing on the other side of the water trough. The courtyard was full of drying sheets. “Since you’ve been here I’ve only ever seen you work. Aren’t the prince’s servants allowed to take breaks?” 

Drew chuckled, going back to the shirt. He was scrubbing at what was obviously a cum stain—he didn’t think he’d washed a garment of the prince’s or of Sir Owen’s yet that didn’t have at least one cum stain, it was kind of alarming—which was mostly gone now. It was in the armpit, and Drew always liked to entertain himself wondering what had happened for the stains to get where they were. Was it on purpose? “I only take breaks when nobody’s looking.” 

Hope laughed at him. “Nobody’s looking now.” 

“You’re looking.” 

“Yeah, but I’m almost done and once I leave, you’re still going to be washing clothes.” 

Drew shrugged. He didn’t mind work. “There are a lot of clothes to wash.” 

“I bet. The prince and his lover sure to go at it a lot, huh?” Hope asked as he started to hang his sheet. 

“I guess,” Drew said, noncommittal. If he was going to be Gavin’s page someday, he couldn’t gossip too much. “They’re betrothed, so…”

“The prince was giving Sir Owen a blowjob out here earlier,” Hope said, pointing to one corner of the courtyard. The same corner where Stuart and Drew had been last night. “Just there. I had to go back in and pretend I hadn’t seen them.” 

“Yeah.” Drew didn’t think they’d have cared. It didn’t seem to bother them that everyone knew they never stopped having sex. “They do that.” 

“Must be interesting to work for them.” 

Drew laughed, hearing Hope fishing for stories. “I guess so. Probably mostly the same was working here.” 

“Probably,” Hope admitted, finishing with his sheet and joining Drew now. “I’ve had to deal with my share of people going at it. It’s amazing how they don’t even know we’re here.” 

“They’d know if we weren’t, though,” Drew said, inspecting the shirt before going to hang it. “Because their sheets would be dirty all the time.” 

“Yeah,” Hope laughed, nodding. “You want some help? Make it go faster.” 

“It’s not your job,” Drew told him, shaking his head. “Don’t worry about me.” It was a nice offer, though. 

“I don’t mind,” Hope said, reaching for some pants. “I’m not doing anything, and…”

“Hope!” Magnus the innkeeper’s voice called from inside, deep and gravelly. “You done yet? Get in here!” 

Hope smiled at Drew, withdrawing his hand. “Nevermind. Sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” Drew told him, smiling back. “Thanks, though.” 

Hope took a step towards the door, stopped. “Hey,” he said, a bit red. “I have a little room in the back of the inn. It’s tiny but nobody else uses it. If you ever want to, you know, take a break or anything, you could always come.” 

Drew had a feeling he meant that in more than one way, and he grinned at Hope. “I don’t want to intrude,” he said politely. He was sharing a room with Gavin’s other servants upstairs. It was better than the loft in the stable, but there were three of them and one bed and Drew was the junior servant. 

“You won’t be,” Hope told him, nervous. He gave a chuckle. “I mean, I’d be watching, but…”

“I’d like that,” Drew said. “Maybe I’ll come by tonight after the prince is in bed.”

Hope beamed at him. “Awesome! I’ll see you!” He reached out, briefly touched Drew’s hand, then dropped it back. “I have to go,” he said. 

“See you tonight,” Drew promised, as Hope left. It probably wouldn’t take much to get Hope to let Drew share his bed. A step up from the floor. 

Pleased, Drew hummed a little to himself as he finished the prince’s laundry. He was just hanging the last pair of smallclothes—there were more of those than everything else, Gavin went through more than one pair a day—when the wind touched his face. 

There was no wind. 

“He seemed nice,” a voice said. The same voice from last night. 

“Who’s there?” Drew demanded, peering around. There was nobody hiding in the sheets, he was sure. 

“Just me,” the voice said, calming. Drew felt himself relax, even as he became sure that he wasn’t imagining it. “Will you trade sex for favours with him too?”

“Why do you care?” Drew asked, giving up on looking around. There was nobody there. 

“My curiosity isn’t a judgemental one,” the voice said. “Your body is yours to trade as you wish. I am merely interested.” 

“But _why_ are you interested?” Drew pressed. “Who are you?” 

“If you need a name, call me Lyren,” the voice told him, melodious. Drew kind of liked hearing it, it had a nice sound. 

“Lyren,” Drew said, trying it out. It was a funny name, but he liked it. He smiled. “I’m Drew.”

“I know,” Lyren said, sounding like he—she? They? Drew decided to go with ‘he’ just because—was laughing. 

“Have you been watching me?” Drew asked, wary. 

“I have,” Lyren said. “You are very interesting.” 

Drew felt warm at that. “All I do is clean and look after horses,” he protested. 

“Not quite. You spend rather a lot of time trying to figure out how to get what you want. I think your dedication to that is admirable.” 

“It’s not that weird,” Drew mumbled, kicking the ground a little. “Everyone wants something.” He wasn’t sure he wanted a disembodied voice knowing what he wanted. 

“But not everyone is willing to do anything to get it,” Lyren said, on the breeze. “I suspect you are, and that makes you very special, Drew.” 

Drew’s face caught fire and he started washing Stuart’s laundry to distract himself. He wasn’t special, but it felt good to hear someone say it. Even if it was just a weird disembodied wind voice. “I’m not special,” he said. 

“You don’t really believe that,” Lyren told him. “And I don’t either. You’re meant for much more than this.” 

Shifting uncomfortably, Drew scrubbed the clothes. “More like what?” he asked, after a moment. 

“That’s for you to decide,” Lyren said, voice like water. “Aim for as much or as little as you like. It will be yours.” 

Drew pictured Frederick’s smile, felt his hand on his skin. Drew’s neck tingled. “I know,” he said, nodding firmly. It would happen. He would make it happen. 

Lyren laughed, the clothes and sheets rustling in the wind. “I like you, Drew. I’d like to help you.” 

That struck Drew as a good idea, but he frowned. “I don’t need help.”

Another laugh. “I know. You’ll do it yourself. But if you change your mind, consider me a tool at your disposal.” 

“But…why would you want to help me?” Drew couldn’t imagine what Lyren would get out of it. Or how a disembodied voice was going to help him get Frederick and a promotion, for that matter. 

The wind blew through the courtyard, sending the laundry billowing and stopping at Drew’s face as if hesitant, then touching him only lightly, a caress. Drew closed his eyes, letting the wind—letting Lyren—touch him. It was a nice feeling. It felt almost fond.

“Because,” Lyren said, touching Drew’s face. “Because I like you, Drew. Because you’re very special and I want to make you very happy.” 

Drew believed that with his whole being. I struck him as true in a way nothing ever had. 

And he didn’t understand. 

“But…I’m…”

“Shh…” Lyren’s touch left Drew’s face, left him wanting it back. “If you decide you need help, come talk to me again. I will wait for you.” 

“Lyren…” Another gust of wind blew through the courtyard, sending the laundry moving again. Drew closed his eyes as he was buffeted this time, dust kicking up in the gust, and when he opened them gain, he knew Lyren was gone. 

And hanging there on the line, clean, was all of Stuart’s laundry.


	3. Heightened Emotions Make People All Kinds of Vulnerable

“Don’t worry about me; I can tie my own boots for a little while.” 

One sentence. That was all it had taken for Gavin to tell Drew that he didn’t matter. A polite smile, a bit of a laugh, and an air of dismissal as Gavin made it clear that Drew wasn’t important, wasn’t anybody. That he was just the guy who tied the prince’s boots—which Drew rarely even did. Gavin didn’t even know what he did. Didn’t care about Drew. 

And Drew knew that. Drew knew that he was invisible, that someone like the prince didn’t notice someone like him unless he had to. Unless Drew made him. 

And now he was going away, to fight demons and rescue people from an evil fortress, and despite Drew’s best efforts, Drew was staying behind with the other servants, the other people who weren’t important. 

It was a break, the others said. A little vacation. They could just enjoy being in Techen’s Stand for a few days with little to do. See the town, the mountains, walk around the cliffs, have fun. 

Drew didn’t want to walk around the cliffs and see the mountains. He wanted to go with the prince. How was he supposed to keep an eye on Gavin like Frederick had asked him to if Gavin went somewhere and left him behind? How was he supposed to impress Gavin and get promoted? How was he supposed to impress Frederick?

“Dammit,” Drew said, kicking at the dirt. He hadn’t known where to go. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to pretend to be happy with the other servants. He was tired and Drew wanted to be upset for a minute where nobody could see him. So he’d come out to the courtyard again. “Dammit.” 

The wind that always blew in Techen’s Stand was cool tonight. It blew over him lightly, not caring that he was chilly or that he was too stupid to have worn long sleeves at this time of year. Not caring that he was there. Not caring about Drew at all. Just like the rest of the world. 

Drew just wanted somebody to know he existed. To care about him. To think he mattered. That was all, and it wasn’t too much. He just wanted someone to tell him he was important. Just one person. He just wanted…

Drew looked up, looked at where he was. The wind rustled the grass. “Lyren?” Drew asked, voice half a whisper. “Are…are you here?”

It was stupid, Drew knew. There was no way that Lyren was anything other than a voice in Drew’s head. Talking to him like he was real was just going to make Drew seem crazy. But no one was looking right now. And something had washed Stuart’s laundry the other day. 

Immediately, there was Lyren’s voice, floating to Drew like mist. “Of course I’m here, Drew. I’m always here for you.” 

That made Drew smile. It was nice to hear. To hear that someone cared. Even if it wasn’t a someone real. “Just checking,” he said. 

“You’re upset,” Lyren told him, sounding upset himself. “What happened?”

Drew sniffed, rubbing at his eyes. “You must know. You can read my mind, can’t you?” Lyren had known things Drew hadn’t said aloud last time. 

A quiet laugh. “You’re very perceptive. Yes, I can see your thoughts. But I’d rather talk. And saying it aloud will help you feel better.” 

It might, so Drew nodded into the empty courtyard, swallowing. “The prince. Gavin. He’s leaving.” 

“And leaving you behind,” Lyren finished. 

Drew nodded again. “I wanted to go with him. I tried to convince him but he just laughed at me.” 

“It’s his loss if he doesn’t appreciate your value,” Lyren told him, the wind brushing Drew’s arm.

“He doesn’t think I have any value,” Drew said, bitter. “He doesn’t think I’m worth anything.” 

“He’s wrong. You know that, don’t you, Drew?”

“He’s not, though.” Drew kicked at the grass again. “I’m not anything. I can’t do anything.” Frederick should never have trusted him. 

“That’s not true,” Lyren insisted, the wind still caressing Drew’s arms. “You’re very special, Drew. You’re very important.” 

Drew hugged himself, turning away from the caress. “You don’t know that. You’re not even real.” It was stupid and childish, being comforted by an invisible friend. Drew needed to stop being such a baby and deal with his problems normally. 

Lyren laughed. His laugh was so nice that Drew couldn’t even be annoyed by it. “Why don’t you think I’m real?”

“Because…” Drew shouldn’t argue, but he did. “You say everything I want to hear. But you’re just a voice. I can’t see you.” It sounded stupid, put like that. 

Another laugh. “I’m not hiding. Would you like to see me?”

Drew looked around. “You’re not real,” he said, stubborn. 

“The border between real and not isn’t as hard as you think, Drew,” Lyren told him. “If you’d like to see me, you’ll need to dig a hole.” 

“A…hole?” Drew asked, looking down at the dirt. There was no shovel, but he could probably move some with his hands. 

“Not a deep one. Under the soil, there’s a heavy stone. If you touch that, you’ll be able to see me.” 

Drew hesitated, but took a step into the yard. He looked around, and dropped slowly to his hands and knees. He dug his fingers into the dirt and started to move it, using a stone that he found to move the loose earth faster.

Lyren was right. After a few minutes, Drew hit hard stone, which didn’t seem to have an edge. 

“Told you,” Lyren’s voice said. “See?”

Drew looked up, and he did see. Crouched on the other side of the hole was a boy whose skin was almost completely white, like cotton with a bluish tinge. Cream-coloured hair fell in wavy curls around his face, and his eyes were gold, flecked with fiery red. He was long limbed and made Drew think of water. His face was androgynous, but Drew knew he was a he because he was naked from heat to toe, and he was smiling warmly. 

Drew started and made to move away, but Lyren reached out, covered Drew’s hand with his—he was so warm—keeping Drew’s hand on the stone. “You won’t be able to see me if you stop touching it,” he warned. 

“You…” Drew started at him, eyes wide, heart pounding. “You’re real…”

“I told you I was, Drew,” Lyren said, still smiling. “You believe me now?”

Drew nodded. 

“Good. I’m…trapped. Under this stone. This isn’t the real me you’re seeing, just a projection. That’s why you can’t see me if you don’t touch the stone.” 

“But…” Lyren’s hand felt real on his. “What are you? An angel?”

A demon?

“I’m a god,” Lyren told him. “Or I used to be. Now I’m just a prisoner. I was sealed away and put to sleep by a group of evil sorcerers who wanted me out of their way.” 

“But you’re awake now,” Drew said, short of breath. It was like something from an old story, or from the scriptures. 

“And still sealed,” Lyren said, smile turning sad. “Please don’t be afraid of me, Drew. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t hurt you or anyone else like this. And I don’t want to. I’d never hurt you.” 

“I…” Lyren sounded so sincere, so afraid. “I believe you.” 

“Thank you.” Lyren reached up and stroked Drew’s face with his free hand. “Thank you so much, Drew.” 

Drew smiled at him. “But…why do you care about me? If you’re really a god, I must be…well, nothing to you.” 

Drew was nothing to the prince, and a god was more than a prince. It stood to reason. 

“Don’t talk like that,” Lyren chided. “You’re everything to me, Drew. You’re…I’ve tried talking to every human who’s come through this courtyard and you’re the only one who’s ever heard me. You’re special. You’re important. And you remind me of myself.” 

“I do?” Drew asked, hot in the face. 

“You’re trapped. You feel useless and weak and it’s not your fault. Nobody listens to you or cares that you exist. People walk right by you and don’t even see you. We’re exactly the same.” 

Tears came to Drew’s eyes as Lyren spoke. That was exactly how he felt. And just imagining how Lyren must feel, after how long here? Forever, maybe. It was so upsetting. “I’m so sorry,” he said to Lyren,. 

“Don’t be,” Lyren told him, with that musical laugh. “You’re so nice. But don’t worry about me. I’m okay. I’m just glad to have someone to talk to for once.” 

“I’ll talk to you whenever you want,” Drew promised immediately. He wanted to help Lyren, even just a little. “I’ll come out all the time. I’ll…is there any way to let you out? So you’re not trapped?”

Lyren’s smile faded for the first time and he shook his head. “Yes. But I’m not going to let you do it. The seal is carved in blood, so you’d have to kill someone to break it, and I don’t want you to do that. You’re not a killer, Drew.” 

Blood draining from his face, Drew nodded. “Okay…you’re right.” He didn’t want to kill someone either. “I’m sorry. If there was another way…”

“I know. It’s okay, don’t worry about me,” Lyren smiled again. “Just come talk to me sometimes, that’s all I ask.” 

“Whenever you want,” Drew promised again, moving his hand a bit as it started to cramp. “I wish I could see you normally, though.” Aside from the fact that talking to a disembodied voice was weird, he liked looking at Lyren. He was pretty. 

Lyren laughed again. It seemed like something he did a lot. “I do too. But you’d have to bleed on the rock, and I don’t want you hurting yourself on my account.” 

“Bleed?” Drew frowned. That sounded scary, but… “Would it have to be a lot?” 

“No, just a drop of blood would connect us,” Lyren said. “I’d be able to go anywhere you were and you’d always be able to see me, but…”

“Hold on,” Drew said, lifting his hand from under Lyren’s. Lyren vanished, but Drew could still feel him. He reached over and picked up the stone he’d been using to dig. 

“Drew…” Lyren’s voice said, unsure. 

“It’s okay,” Drew said, taking a breath. He dug the rock into the side of his palm, wincing as it started to hurt. But he kept at it until he saw blood, and then reached down and smeared it on the big stone. 

Lyren reappeared, and this time he stayed when Drew removed his hand. He looked like he might cry. “I can’t believe you did that for me…”

Drew smiled at him. “We’re the same,” he said. “I don’t want you to feel alone.” He felt different, too. Lyren had said this would connect them and Drew felt that. He felt close to Lyren in a way he couldn’t explain, in a way he hadn’t before. His whole being felt a little warmer, like the heat from Lyren’s hand was infusing him even without them touching. Drew liked the feeling. It made him feel…like he wasn’t alone. 

“Oh, Drew.” Lyren hugged him Drew, wrapping arms around him, enveloping Drew in warmth. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met.” 

Drew hugged back, happy and warm. “You too, Lyren.” 

Lyren chuckled, and they held each other for a bit. Lyren pulled back a little, making a funny face. His hand slid up to Drew’s neck. “Lyren?” Drew asked. 

“What’s this?” Lyren asked, hand pulling back. Drew’s neck tingled. Drew looked over his shoulder, following Lyren’s line of sight, and saw what looked like a black thread floating off into the distance. 

Drew looked at it, stomach feeling funny. One end was floating off, but the other was clearly connected to him. “I’ve never…seen that before…” he said, dizzy for a moment.

Lyren held the thread, looking at it for a second. Then he smiled, let it go. If faded from Drew’s sight. “I wouldn’t worry,” he said to Drew. “Just means you’re connected to something. Most people are.” 

Drew blinked. He thought about the string he’d imagined between Sir Owen and the prince. Maybe everyone had a threat that connected them to someone. He hoped Frederick was on the other end of his. “Do you know what I’m connected to?”

“No,” Lyren answered, touching Drew’s face. “But I’m sure it’s something extraordinary.” 

Drew smiled. “Me too.” 

“Just another thing that makes you special,” Lyren said, releasing Drew and sitting beside him on the grass. He held Drew’s hand and kissed it. 

Drew believed him, and so he didn’t worry about it. He sat with Lyren, leaning against him a little. Lyren felt so present. So real. More than people. His hand didn’t hurt anymore, and when he looked down, the wound was gone. 

“Now,” Lyren said, still holding Drew’s hand. “Tell me more about your problem. Maybe I can help. Oh, and I want to hear about this Frederick that you’re always thinking about, too.” 

Drew felt himself heat up even more, blushing like mad. “Um…”

“Is he naked as often in the real world as he is in your imagination?” Lyren teased. 

“Lyren!” Drew was going to die. 

Lyren laughed, squeezing Drew’s hand. “Come on, no need for secrets. Let’s hear it.” 

Still blushing, Drew told him. About Frederick, about the prince, about everything. He talked for half the night, and Lyren listened the whole time, making a few suggestions now and again. But he never stopped listening, never stopped caring.

Never stopped making it clear that Drew mattered to him.


	4. Any Dream Can only Ever Be as Real as it Feels when you Wake up

_“Who even is that?” Sir Owen asked._

_“I don’t know, you think I know his name?” The prince shrugged. “He’s just the kid who ties my boots, he’s nobody.”_

_Sir Owen laughed, armour clinking. “Nobody who matters, anyway.”_

_“Exactly,” the prince agreed, smirking. “He’ll never matter. All he’s good for is pouring wine and taking care of your horse.”_

_“And laundry,” Stuart chimed in, flexing his hand. “He’s not even my servant and he does mine. All it took was my hand on him. He even blows me for the privilege.”_

_“So desperate for a bed he’s willing to do anything,” Hope agreed. “It’s a bit pathetic.”_

_All four of them laughed, laughed at Drew, laughed at how insignificant he was, how much eh didn’t matter, and while they did, Drew stood there, trapped in the shadow they were casting. He tried to block them out, cover his ears, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t make any sound. And every comment, every true thing they added to the list of reasons why Drew was nobody, another weight seemed to land on his shoulders, pressing him down, grinding him smaller and smaller until he was nothing, nothing at all._

_“Hey, Drew.”_

_Drew looked up, terror striking him at Frederick’s voice. There he was, standing in front of Drew, smiling. Drew tried to back away, shaking his head. He couldn’t. He couldn’t take it from if Frederick joined in. Not him, he…_

_“Don’t listen to them,” Frederick said, taking Drew’s hands in his and smiling. “They don’t know you like I do. You’re doing a great job.” He helped Drew stand, the weights lifting._

_“Bu-but…”_

_“No buts. You’re perfect.” And then Frederick kissed him. And all the shadows, Sir Owen and the prince and Stuart and Hope, all the weight, it all vanished, and Drew felt warm and full and content. They were floating together. “Come on. Let’s go have a bath.”_

_They were in the servants’ baths in the palace, empty of anyone but them. Frederick smiled that smile at Drew, the one that made him tingle all over. “I’m glad,” Frederick said._

_“Glad?” Drew was distracted. The water was clear and hot, but there was no steam, and he could see Frederick so clearly, and that made him hard and he knew Frederick could see that too and that made it worse. Drew was aching between his legs, the water caressing him gently._

_“Glad,” Frederick repeated, sliding closer to Drew. He was hard too. “I’ve always wanted to know you better. I’ve been watching you. You’re different. I can tell. Special…”_

_“I’m not…”_

_“You are,” Frederick promised, kissing Drew’s cheek. “And cute, too. I’m going to show you how special you are, Drew.” Before Drew could react, Frederick had captured his mouth, kissing him again, and he was sitting in Drew’s lap, legs on either side of Drew, his body warm against Drew’s. His hand was wrapped around Drew’s quivering dick, and he started stroking, his hand soft, hot, perfect._

_Drew had never imagined it would feel like this. He’d imagined it, imagined Frederick touching him, kissing him, a hundred times at least. But never had he thought it could feel like this. “Fr-Frederick…”_

_Frederick kept touching him, insistent, and Drew wanted to touch back. He wrapped his arm around Frederick. His hand slid up and down Frederick’s back, his skin soft under Drew’s touch, so soft, so lovely. And with his other hand, Drew reached down and wrapped around Frederick’s dick just like Frederick was doing for him, stroking him in return._

_Frederick moaned, the cutest noise Drew had ever heard. “Dr-Dr-Drew…” he whimpered, needy. “You’re so good at that…”_

_Drew smiled, and kissed Frederick again. “Not as good as you…”_

_“I wish I’d done this sooner,” Frederick told him, gasping for air as he seemed to melt under Drew’s hands. “I was afraid you wouldn’t want to…”_

_Drew didn’t believe that, he didn’t believe that Frederick was afraid of anything. “I wanted to,” Drew panted, riding waves of pleasure from Frederick’s hand. “I’ve always wanted to, Frederick. I’d do anything you wanted.”_

_Frederick gave him a hard squeeze. “Then lay back.”_

_Drew did without hesitation, the wall of the bath not impeding him. Frederick slid away, slid out of Drew’s hands, slid down between his legs, still touching him there. Drew never wanted Frederick to stop touching him there._

_And then Frederick smiled that smile that Drew loved, and he put Drew’s dick in his mouth._

_Drew made a sound much like a scream as his dick was engulfed in the hottest heat he’d ever felt. It burnt, but Drew loved it, wanted it, wanted more. Hope had done this for him once and it hadn’t felt like this, not at all. Frederick was so much better._

_Drew lost himself, lost the baths, lost everything but the water and the heat, pooled around his groin as if to sear him. It was just on the boundary of painful, but Drew wanted to get lost in it, wanted, wanted Frederick to feel it too, this brilliant, overwhelming everything. He wanted to share it with Frederick, to share it with the person who meant the most to him._

_As soon as though that, he felt something poke his lips, and Drew opened his eyes against he white holding them shut, and saw Frederick. Frederick’s dick. Hard, quavering. Perfect, right in front of Drew, asking for entry._

_Drew opened his mouth without hesitation, letting Frederick in, letting the heat enter his mouth, cover him as Frederick’s body pressed against his. How was Frederick so hot? How did every part of him feel so good? How was he so perfect?_

_Drew didn’t care. He focused on sucking Fredrick, on making Frederick feel as good as he was feeling, letting Frederick slide along his tongue, down his throat, pushing Frederick’s butt to get him in faster, so soft under his hands._

_And Frederick’s hands felt so good on him. Frederick was touching his back, his butt, his legs, his everywhere at once. He was holding Drew in place, arms wrapped around his belly, his waist. Hands on his ankles, and massaging his butt and Frederick didn’t have that many hands._

_It was the water, Drew realized. The water was holding him, tendrils wrapped around him along with Frederick. Touching him everywhere he could be touched. Warming him, holding him, driving Drew crazy. Entering him. Drew started as a tendril of water pressed between his legs, sliding between his cheeks, into his hole. Drew had thought it would hurt to have it up there, but it didn’t, it was just nice, better than nice, a spreading of the heat, of the pleasure, to somewhere new. Maybe somewhere better._

_The tendril slid in and out, thickening, widening, going deeper and deeper, filling Drew more and more. Frederick sucked harder on him, swallowing Drew hard. And more of Frederick's seemed to slide into Drew’s mouth, more than there could possibly be, he couldn’t be this long, this hard, this…_

_Drew didn’t care. He sucked Frederick down greedily. He wanted more. More in his mouth, more on his dick, more up his butt, more everywhere. He was being touched everywhere, hot and urgent, making his whole body buzz and tremble like he was going to fall apart, and Drew couldn’t take it anymore but he wanted to, he wanted this forever, this pain, this feeling, this heat, this everything. He wanted to drown in it, to be annihilated, to…_

_Even though Frederick’s mouth was full with Drew, he managed to whisper in Drew’s ear. “I love you, Drew.”_

_Drew shattered, breaking into endless pieces, and he screamed again as the heat tore through him, became his all, and he became the heat, became…_

Drew cried out pitifully as he woke up, his cum splattering his chest. He was so hot, so…

“Hey. You alive?”

“Frederick?”

A chuckle. Someone leaned over him, pushed a hand to his head. “It’s me, silly,” Hope said. 

Right. Hope. He was sleeping in Hope’s bed. Drew’s smallclothes were around his knees, and his dick was sore. 

A dream. He’d been dreaming, all of that. And from that, he’d…Drew went bright red in the dark. “S-sorry!” he said, reaching down to pull his smallclothes up. “I don’t know how…”

“Relax.” Hope gave a laugh, patting Drew’s side. “I pulled them down for you. Your tent was looking painful and I figured you’d rather make a mess outside them.” 

“Thanks…” Drew muttered, embarrassed. “Sorry for waking you up.” 

“It’s cool,” Hope said, shifting beside him. He used something to clean Drew up. His own smallclothes, Drew realized. He was naked. “It was funny. It’s been like an hour. And you never even touched yourself, just blew anyway.” 

“Sorry,” Drew said again. Now that it was over, he was disappointed. Of course it had only been a dream. 

“Happens to everyone,” Hope said, taking his smallclothes away. “Glad you’re having good dreams.” He shifted, his boner rubbing against Drew’s thigh. He was leaking a little. 

Drew bit his lip. “Do you want…” He reached out, touched it. It was warm, but not as hot as Frederick had been in the dream. 

“S-sure…you may have gotten me a little excited,” Hope told him, with a nervous laugh. 

“Let me fix that, then,” Drew said, stroking Hope. His breath was hitting Drew’s face. Drew tried to pretend he was Frederick, but couldn’t. 

Fortunately Hope only needed a few good strokes to make him tense, and he came with a yelp all over Drew’s thigh. He picked his smallclothes up and used them to clean up the mess, then tossed them away. “Thanks. You’re the best, Drew.” 

“No problem, Goodnight, Hope.” Drew was tired, the dream had worn him out just as much as being awake would have. 

“Night.” And Hope put his arm around Drew, tugging his closer, and was sleep in a few minutes.

Only when he was sure Hope was asleep did Drew look up, over to the corner of the room, where despite the darkness, he could see Lyren sitting, watching him. He’d been there since Drew had woken up. And since before he’d fallen asleep. He was smiling. “Was…did you do that? The dream?” He felt silly asking, but it was just a feeling. In retrospect, Frederick had been hot in the same way Lyren’s skin was hot. Drew didn’t know what Lyren’s power could do.

Lyren nodded. “You were having a nightmare. I couldn’t watch you suffer anymore. So I gave you something nice instead.” 

Drew wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Lyren pretending to be Frederick. But it had felt really good at the time.

“Do you want another one?” Lyren asked, getting up, coming to crouch by the bed. He put his hand on Drew’s forehead, brushing his hair aside. “Even like this, dreams come easy.” 

Drew smiled at Lyren as Hope tugged him closer. “I don’t think I can take another one like that tonight.” 

“Okay.” Lyren laughed. “But I’ll make sure to keep the nightmares away, okay?”

“You don’t have to…”

“Shh…” Lyren put a finger over Drew’s mouth. “I want to. You don’t deserve nightmares.” 

That warmed Drew more than Hope’s arms, and he nodded. “Okay. Are you going to be there all night?” He liked that idea, the idea that Lyren was watching over him. 

“Of course.” Lyren kissed Drew’s forehead, which made Drew blush for how affectionate it was. “I’ll always watch over you. And I’ll tell you a secret about dreams?”

“What?” Drew asked, yawning. 

“They’re as real as you want them to be. Someday you and Frederick will do that for real.” 

Drew liked that. He liked that a lot, and he knew it was showing. “How do you know?” he asked, in a small voice. 

“Because you’re going to get everything you want and more someday,” Lyren told him, with another kiss. “It’s what you deserve.” 

Drew felt warm, happy, content. He felt like someone bigger and stronger than Hope was holding him tight. “Thank you, Lyren.”

“Go to sleep now. You need rest.” 

“Okay.” Drew smiled. “Goodnight, Lyren. And thank you for before. It was…nice.” 

“You can have another one tomorrow if you like.” Lyren put his hand over Drew’s eyes, closing them. “Sweet dreams, Drew.” 

And Drew fell asleep, happy.


	5. Value is Decided Differently for Different People

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No exaggeration, this is my most anticipated chapter of the series so far.

“I just think you’d really like it,” Hope said, nervous. “From what I hear, it feels really good…”

Red in the face, Drew fidgeted with the cover of the blanket. They were getting ready for bed, and he and Hope had just sucked each other. Hope had asked to suck Drew every night this week, and now Drew knew why. “I don’t know…” Drew said, not making eye contact. “I guess I’m just a bit nervous.”

“Well, we can try,” Hope suggested, smiling hopefully. “And if you don’t like it, we can stop.” 

“Um…” Hope wanted to stick his dick up Drew’s butt and fuck him. “I’m just not sure,” he said. And it was true. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. He’d liked it when it happened in the dreams Lyren had been giving him. But he wasn’t sure in real life. He wasn’t sure he wanted to do it with Hope. He’d had a lot of first times on this trip. Most of his first times. He kind of wanted to save this one, for someone who mattered. For someone he mattered to. For someone who didn’t see him as a free suck. For someone he didn’t see as a free bed. For someone he loved. For Frederick. “Can…” He didn’t want to upset Hope. “Can I think about it? For a day or two?”

Hope smiled, obviously a little disappointed. “Okay. Sure. Let me know what you decide.” He was still hard. 

Drew nodded, and to make Hope feel better he sucked him off again before they curled up under the blankets, Hope holding him as usual until he fell asleep.

Hope protested a little as Drew pulled away from him, like usual, but Drew squeezed out and gave Hope the pillow to hug instead, and that contented him. “Mm, Drew,” he mumbled, pulling the pillow closer. 

Drew patted his cheek before taking Hope’s shirt to put on, not bothering with pants as he left the room, heading outside. If he got cold, Lyren would warm him up. 

“You know, you don’t have to come out here every night,” Lyren told him as Drew stepped onto the grass. “I can make sure Hope doesn’t wake up; you can stay indoors.” 

“I like coming out here,” Drew said, smiling at Lyren. “I feel like it makes it more special.” 

“Seeing you is always special,” Lyren told Drew, taking his hand. Even though Drew’s comment had been stupid, Lyren didn’t make fun of him. He never did. 

Drew chuckled. He was starting to believe Lyren when he said stuff like that. “I just feel like I’m closer to you here. It’s a special place because I know you’re under the ground here. It’s like…” Drew struggled to find the right words, and Lyren waited patiently. “You’re a god, right? This is like your church.” 

The smile Lyren gave him for that was the prettiest thing Drew had ever seen. “Well, I really like that idea,” he said, glowing a little in what Drew thought was a blush. “You can be my high priest.” 

Drew giggled at the image, but it faded quickly. “Um, Lyren?”

“What is it, Drew?”

Drew felt funny all of the sudden. Light. “I want to talk to you about something. Hope wants, um…” He was really dizzy. “I think…I need…help…” Drew felt himself start to fall. Start to disappear, like he was falling asleep, or…

He wasn’t afraid. He knew Lyren would catch him. 

Lyren did catch him, but so did the strings. Black, like the one on his neck, but dozens in number. Seeming to appear one at a time, around his arms, legs, torso, Drew was tangled in them, unable to move. 

He _was_ moving, though, standing up, stepping away from Lyren, who was frowning. “Drew?”

_What’s going on?_ Drew tried to ask, but his mouth didn’t move. _Lyren?_

“No,” Lyren said, looking carefully. “You’re not Drew.” 

_I am!_ Drew tried to say. 

“Not quite,” was what Drew did say, but it wasn’t him moving his mouth, it wasn’t him making the sound. Drew put his hand on his chin, watching Lyren closely, and that wasn’t him either. There was someone, someone else. Inside him. No, only Drew was inside. Outside. Controlling him with the strings. 

Like a puppet. 

“You’re the one,” Drew’s mouth said, in a language Drew didn't know but nonetheless understood, “who has been playing around in the boy’s dreams.”

“And you’re the one who claims possession of his body,” Lyren said, plucking one of the strings. 

_Lyren, help!_ Drew tried to yell. He was scared. But Lyren would help him, would rescue him. Drew mattered to Lyren, he knew it. 

Lyren let go of the string, looking Drew in the eye, looking dangerous. “Who are you?”

“My name,” Drew’s mouth said, “is Klaus.” The name struck Drew with something, but he didn’t know what. 

“Ah,” Lyren said, his smile coming back. He looked like he might laugh. “The Spider General. With delusions of godhood.” 

Using Drew’s mouth, Klaus smiled wryly. “Is that what they say about me? And now you have me at a disadvantage.” 

Lyren nodded. “I’m Lyren Techen Le’Carden.” That one struck Drew too. Lyren’s full name. It sounded…powerful. 

Klaus widened Drew’s eyes, just a little, to show surprise. “Is that so? The Prince of Sorrows? And here they all say you died.” 

“Funny, that’s what they were saying about you, last I heard.” Lyren cocked his head. “Admittedly, my information is a few millennia out of date. Is Drew in there? Can he hear me?”

_I can hear you!_ Drew cried, but to no avail. He wondered what ‘Prince of Sorrows’ meant. 

“Do you care?” Klaus asked, smiling. 

_Of course he does! Lyren cares about me!_ Drew railed against Klaus, trying to break his hold, make him stop, but it was useless. 

“Of course I care,” Lyren said, nodding. “Drew is special to me.” 

While Drew mentally smiled, Klaus snorted. “Forgive me if I don’t believe you. No need to worry. My puppetry spell is such that he won’t remember this once I’ve left. I can hardly have my agents knowing what they are. It limits their usefulness.” 

“All the more reason to be honest, then. Drew is very important to me, Klaus. Don’t hurt him.” That had the tenor of a threat to Drew’s ears. 

“I could say the same to you,” Klaus said, while Drew felt warm. Drew hoped Klaus was wrong. He didn’t want to forget this. He wouldn’t. And he hated Klaus. Lyren would never hurt him. 

“I’m no threat to Drew,” Lyren said. “But I am one to you if you don’t leave him alone.” 

Klaus stamped Drew’s foot on the ground. “You plan to use him to break this seal on top of you,” he accused. 

“I don’t plan to use him for anything. You’re using him to spy on the prince, though.” 

Klaus made Drew chuckle, smirking. Drew wondered if Lyren could tell that every movement he made was intentional. “I watch as many people of consequence as I can. Generally through eyes of little consequence.” 

“So you have others,” Lyren said. “Other…puppets.” 

Klaus just made Drew smile again. 

Lyren scowled. “Release Drew. The prince has many servants you can use instead, leave Drew alone.” 

“You mean leave him with you?” Klaus asked, snide. As if it were the same. As if Drew would feel the same either way. 

But Drew’s feelings didn’t matter. Klaus was just another person who didn’t care about him. He only saw Drew as a puppet. Drew’s body didn’t even belong to him. 

“At least I care about him,” Lyren said, shifting his nonexistent weight. 

Klaus laughed, angering Drew further. “No doubt. Don’t misunderstand me, Lyren. You may do as you like with him so long as you don’t kill him. I only came tonight because I was in the area, and to check on why there has been such power in proximity to him, and on why you’ve been playing Dreamcrafter with him.” 

“So I can keep him. And in exchange you’ll use him to spy on me as well,” Lyren said, crossing his arms. 

“Clever,” Klaus laughed. “Indeed, if you want to think of it like that. I was thinking more that he’s a point of contact between us.” 

“And why should we need that?”

“Because you know my reputation,” Klaus said. “And I know yours, Lyren. We have a common enemy.” 

Lyren looked at Drew, not answering for a long time. Drew wished he would say something. And then he barked a laugh, one that sounded very unlike him. “He was here, you know. Just a few weeks past. All I wanted to do was reach out and…” Lyren made a fist. “But I couldn’t, even unsealed I couldn’t.” He sounded upset, voice a whisper. It made Drew wonder who this person was. Maybe one of the people who’d sealed him here?

“Someday,” Klaus promised. “You will. I’ll help you. And maybe Drew will too.”

“Only if he wants to,” Lyren said, fond. “Fine. I’ll accept this arrangement. For now, and presuming it doesn’t bring Drew to harm.” 

“Very well.” Klaus tapped his foot against he ground, and Drew felt the oddest sensation of something shifting. “I can’t break your seal. But I can wear the edges a little for you.” 

“That’s more than I need. A blood sacrifice will do the rest.” While Drew wondered at that—Lyren had said he didn’t want one—Lyren smiled again. “Thank you. I assume you’ll be watching?”

Klaus reached up behind Drew, fingering the thread emerging from Drew’s neck. “Only when the thread is visible. Not to worry. What you do with Drew is between you and him.” 

“Good.” Lyren stepped forward. “In that case, leave us alone now.” 

“Very well.” Klaus gave a mock bow, and the strings started to fade. “I shall speak with you later, Lyren.” 

And the strings vanished, and Drew staggered, recovering from the momentary dizziness that had overtaken him. “Oh, wow.” 

“You’re okay,” Lyren said, putting a hand on Drew’s head. He was holding Drew in his other arm. He’d caught Drew, just like Drew had known he would. “Be careful, silly.” 

Drew chuckled. “Yeah. Sorry, I guess I’m just tired. I guess I should go to bed.” 

“I guess so,” Lyren agreed. “And about your Hope problem. Just tell him no. He’ll listen, promise.” 

Drew believed that, and he smiled, lingering in Lyren’s arms. “Okay,” he said, though he didn’t remember telling Lyren about that. He must have, before he’d stumbled. Or maybe Lyren had just read his mind. “Thanks, Lyren.” 

“Always, Drew.” Lyren helped him stand properly, then hugged him. “You’re very, very special to me, Drew.” 

Drew laughed. “I know. You’re very special to me too.” He was. Drew had started to care a lot about Lyren the last little while. 

“I’m glad to hear that. Okay.” Lyren gave him one last squeeze, then let go, taking Drew’s hand instead. “Let’s get you to bed. What would you like to dream about tonight?”


	6. Well-Intentioned People Are the Easiest to Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note about chronology for anyone interested: This story is going to end up being ahead of all the others up until the end. It'll end up in the main timeline again eventually, but it ended up progressing more quickly in time than the others.

“Aw, come on…”

Drew shook his head, hand on Hope’s chest. “I just don’t really…”

“I gave you time to think about it like you asked,” Hope said. 

“And I decided I don’t want to,” Drew told him. Which he’d already said. 

“You’ll like it…”

“I said no, Hope.” 

Hope scowled, looking away. “Fine. If you don’t like me all you had to do was say so.” 

“I do like you,” Drew explained. “I just don’t want to do that. “

Hope let out a low sigh. “Just feel like you let me think something that wasn’t true, and…”

Lyren wrapped his arms around Drew from behind. “He’s not going to stop trying to change your mind.” 

“I didn’t,” Drew said, knowing Lyren was right. “I never told you we’d do that.” 

“But you made me feel like we would.”

“You’re going to have to change his mind for him if you want him to stop.” 

“How?”

“I just…you were okay to do everything else,” Hope explained, pleading. “So I thought…”

“Put your hand on his head,” Lyren instructed. “Concentrate on the warm feeling in your belly, and say his name. Then tell him no again.” 

“I just feel like you kind of lied to me and that’s not…”

Focusing on his belly, Drew put his hand on Hope’s forehead. He felt warm all over. “Hope,” he said, trying not to raise his voice. “No.” 

“Oh.” Hope relaxed, and Drew felt some of the heat go out of himself. “Okay, Drew. Sorry. I should have listened the first time.” 

“Yeah,” Drew said, nodding his head. He was relieved, light. “It’s okay. Just don’t ask again.” 

“I won’t,” Hope promised, smiling. There was a tone of finality in his voice. 

He’d changed so…quickly. Drew glanced at Lyren, who was smiling too. What had he done?

“I didn’t do anything,” Lyren said, unheard by Hope, who was still just sitting there, smiling at Drew. “You did. Tell him to do something.” 

Drew looked back at Hope, heart pounding. “Put your clothes back on,” he said, voice a little quiet. 

Hope grinned and scrambled off the bed, quickly putting his shirt and pants back on. “Not the boots,” Drew said, stopping Hope as he started to grab those. Hope stopped. “Go and pour a cup of water.” Hope did, crossing the small room to get the pitcher and fill a tin cup. Hope brought the water over to Drew, holding it out hopefully. “Pour it over your head,” Drew whispered, unable to look away. 

Hope did that too, not hesitating to empty the cup over his head, smile never wavering even as the water ran down his face and into his shirt. He looked like he was waiting. “Good job,” Drew told him, not sure what else to say. Drew felt like he was floating. This was a dream. It had to be. 

But did that mean it wasn’t real?

Drew glanced at Lyren, who looked pleased, then back at Hope, who was still grinning. “Th-thank you!” Hope said. “I didn’t do that much…”

“Sure you did,” Drew told him, swallowing. This was wrong. Whatever it was, it was wrong. “Go and get me something to eat. Something small, from the kitchen.” 

Hope nodded. “Okay! I’ll be right back.” And he scurried off, closing the door behind him. 

Drew turned to Lyren immediately. “What did you do to him?”

“I told you,” Lyren said, holding Drew’s hand. “Nothing. You did it. And very well for your first time.” 

“But what…” Drew looked down at the hand he’d put on Hope’s head. “Did I do?”

“Simple magic,” Lyren told him. “To help him understand what’s important.” 

“Like…mind control?” Everyone knew stories about evil mages who used mind control on people. Most importantly, it was always _evil_ mages. 

Was Drew evil? Was Lyren?

“The proper word is ‘enthrallment,’” Lyren told him. “It’s a type of compulsion, if you want to be specific. You’re not making him do anything. He could say no if he wanted to.” 

“But he didn’t say no,” Drew said, watching the door now. “I’m sure he didn’t want any of that.” 

“Maybe he didn’t want to pour the water on his head,” Lyren agreed. “But he wants to make you happy. He likes you, and he hopes you’ll like him too. An enthrallment spell just…prioritizes the part of someone that likes you, makes that their most important thing.” 

“Is that…” Drew felt cold, and he pulled away from Lyren. “Are you doing that to me?”

“No.”

“But I wouldn’t know if you were.” 

Lyren smiled. “It would make me happy,” he said, “if you’d go out of town, find a mountain lion and let it bite your arm off.” 

“What? No!” Drew grabbed his arm protectively, shaking his head. He couldn’t believe Lyren would ask that! How could he…

“See?” Lyren asked. “You didn’t even think about it. If you tell Hope the same thing I told you, he’d say no too, probably. Though he might not if he feels that strongly about making you happy. But even if he said no, he’d feel so bad about it that he’d cry. He’d try to find another way to make you happy. And you might talk him into it in the end.” Lyren’s expression turned serious. “Drew, if someone enthralled is devoted enough to you, you can get him to do anything.” 

“I don’t want that,” Drew whispered, shaking his head. “I don’t want him to do anything for me. I don’t…”

“I know,” Lyren said, slowly taking Drew’s hand again. “I know, Drew. That’s why I knew I could trust you with the power. I know you won’t use it to hurt anyone. Because you’re good, and kind, and special.” 

“But…” Drew was calming down, a little. “I’m not magic. How…”

“I gave you the power. I can only give you a little like this, but I want you to have it.” 

“I’m not magical…and why?” Drew asked again. He was so confused. 

“Gods can give power to whomever they want,” Lyren explained. “And as for why…” He crawled closer, nearly into Drew’s lap, hand resting on Drew’s bare chest. “You know why.” 

“Because I’m special,” Drew whispered, Lyren’s hand warm over his heart.

“That’s right.” Lyren kissed Drew, just a peck on the lips. “You are special. And where I’m from, all high priests receive power from their gods. But even if you weren’t my high priest, I’d still give it to you. Why?”

“Because I deserve it,” Drew recited, mouth dry. That was what Lyren was going to say. 

“Exactly.” Lyren kissed him again as the door opened, and Hope came in with some bread and a piece of fruit. “If the spell makes you uncomfortable, just remove it by touching him again and concentrating on dispersing the power you used. And remember that how you use the power is for you to decide.” 

“I hope this is okay,” Hope said, bringing the food to Drew. “I didn’t know what you wanted, so…”

Lyren got off Drew, and Drew smiled at Hope. “It’s perfect. Thank you, Hope.” 

Hope beamed, and Drew took the fruit and bit into it. “Could I have some water?” he asked. “To drink this time,” he added, with a chuckle. 

Hope did as Drew asked, and he watched Drew eat and took away what Drew left behind. And then they got into bed, Hope pulling Drew into a cuddle like he usually did. He thought Drew liked that, Drew realized. He just wanted to make Drew happy. 

Drew pulled away, sat up. 

“What’s wrong?” Hope asked, looking worried. 

“I…think I’d rather sleep by myself tonight,” Drew told him, moving to get over Hope. “Not because of you, you didn’t do anything wrong, I just…” Hope was nodding, and got out of bed himself, sliding onto the floor. “What are you doing?”

“You should take the bed,” Hope said, laying back and resting his head on his hands. 

“It’s…it’s your bed, though…”

Hope smiled. “It’s only fair. I made you upset before, right? I feel bad about that. I…don’t know what was wrong with me.”

_How you use the power is for you to decide._

Drew leaned down, reached out to touch Hope. “Hope…what would you do if I said it would make me happy if a mountain lion bit you?”

Hope recoiled, then looked upset, then scared, all in a few seconds. “I…Drew. I want you to be happy. I do, I swear. B-but…I don’t know if I can…”

Scared, Drew touched Hope’s cheek. “It’s okay,” he said quickly. “It’s okay. I don’t really want you to do that, Hope. I don’t want you to get hurt, I promise.” 

Hope calmed down immediately, but Drew didn’t. Hope smiled again. “Thank you. I’m glad. You’re…you’re so nice.” 

Drew nodded, though he wasn’t sure if he was. He kept his hand on Hope’s cheek for a minute longer. _Just focus on dispersing the power._ Lyren was watching him from the foot of the bed. 

Hope had been scaring Drew earlier, just like Drew had just scared him. Only he hadn’t stopped when Drew had started to get upset. 

Drew took his hand away. “You’re nice too, Hope. Thank you.” 

“Thank you!” Hope was grinning again like Drew hadn’t just threatened him a minute ago. 

Drew gave him one more smile before laying down, shuttering the lantern. “Goodnight, Hope. Let’s go to sleep.” 

“Okay. Goodnight, Drew.” 

Hope was asleep in a few minutes like always. Drew lay on his side, facing the wall. “I didn’t tell him do to that,” he said quietly. “I didn’t want him to give me his bed. I was just going to go.” 

Lyren’s hand came to rest on Drew’s shoulder. He was sitting up here now. “You don’t have to tell him what to do. He’s got his own mind, and he’ll do whatever he thinks will make you happiest, and keep you closest to him. Because he wants to.” 

“But why would he want to?” Drew asked, trying to understand. 

“I’ll tell you a secret about humans, Drew,” Lyren said. “They’re naturally subservient. They want someone to give them orders and make decisions for them. If they can spend their lives serving someone, they will. They want to please. They’ll all convinced themselves that they don’t, but it only takes a small push to remind them of who they are deep down.” 

Under the blanket, Drew shivered. “Even me?”

“No.” Drew knew Lyren was smiling. “You’re one of the rare ones who doesn’t. Your species needs those. Do you know why?”

Drew thought about it. He did, but he answer scared him. “Because servants need a master,” he said after a long moment of silence. 

“That’s right,” Lyren said, proud. He was playing with Drew’s hair now. “You should go to sleep. I have a good dream planned for you tonight.” 

“Okay,” Drew said, trying to calm down. He closed his eyes. “Goodnight, Lyren. And…thank you.” 

“Any time, Drew,” Lyren said, resting his hand on Drew’s head. “Goodnight.” 

Drew dreamed that he lived in a house on top of a mountain, and the whole world looked up at him.


	7. Exercising Power Just Makes You Hungry for More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember back in the first chapter when I said that some events in the story would lead to later dubcon? Bearing in mind what happened last chapter, it's safe to say that any sexy times that happen from here on out are safely classified that way.

“I can do that for you.” 

Drew looked over at Hope and smiled. “It’s just my laundry. You shouldn’t worry about it.” 

“But I want to,” Hope told him, washing a bedsheet. “You shouldn’t have to do that, let me.” 

Drew watched Hope for a second, chuckling. “Okay, if you’re sure.” His life had gotten a lot easier now that Hope suddenly wanted nothing but to make him happy. 

“Of course,” Hope said, happy. “You just relax and I’ll do it.” 

“Thank you, Hope,” Drew said, and he left his dirty clothes, turning and leaning back against the courtyard wall, just watching Hope work. Lyren sat beside him, holding Drew’s hand in his. 

Hope just grinned, went back to watching the sheets. “Even for a human, he’s a special breed,” Lyren said thoughtfully. “I really think he’d do anything you said. It’s impressive, especially for your first enthrallment.” 

“Hey,” Hope said, after a few minutes. He was hanging up the last sheet. “Do you think later you and I could…maybe go for a walk somewhere? Just the two of us?” Hope blushed. “You don’t have to! I just think it would be really nice…”

Drew smiled. He didn’t really want to do that. “Go with him,” Lyren said, before Drew could answer. “Giving him some of what he wants keeps him happy, and keeps him wanting you happy too.” 

That made sense, Drew figured. It wasn’t like a walk in the mountains would hurt. “Okay,” he said to Hope. “I’d like that.” 

With the look that split Hope’s face, anyone might be forgiven for thinking that Drew had agreed to marry him. “Thank you!” he said, starting on Drew’s laundry. “We’re going to have so much fun. There’s this cool cliff I want to show you where you can see the whole world! Or at least that’s what it seems like. And sometimes there are these birds…”

“Do you want to know what he’s thinking?” Lyren asked, sliding even closer to Drew. 

Drew chuckled. He could guess. He could see the growing bulge in the front of Hope’s pants as he washed the clothes. 

“Pretty on the mark,” Lyren agreed, reading Drew’s mind. “If the walk goes well, he’s planning to ask for you to put your dick inside him, since he knows you don’t want him putting his inside you.” 

Drew blushed to the roots of his hair, his own pants suddenly getting tight. He’d…never thought of that possibility. But he was now. He didn’t think he’d do it. But it was fun to imagine. It was fun to imagine Hope laying on his back, spreading his legs, or on his belly, butt in the air as Drew slid his dick inside, panting and moaning and asking Drew for more and…

Beside him, Lyren snickered. “Don’t need to read your mind to know what you’re thinking…”

“Sh-shut up…”

“What?” Hope asked, breaking off whatever he’d been babbling about. Drew had kind of stopped listening in his distraction. 

“Sorry,” Drew said. “I w-was just…thinking about how much fun we’ll have!”

Hope nodded enthusiastically. “It’s going to be great. I can’t wait…” He trailed off, kind of looking at Drew funny. 

“What’s wrong?” Drew asked him, wondering if maybe the enthrallment was weakening, or…

“Um…” Hope was blushing now. “Just…you’re hard, and…”

“Oh!” Drew hid behind his hand. “I was…don’t worry about it…”

“I could help you!” Hope blurted out. “With it. I could…I want to help you with it.” 

“That’s okay,” Drew said, shaking his head, embarrassed.

“No,” Hope said, dropping a shirt and coming over. “I want to. It’s okay, let me.” 

Even like this, Hope was just as insistent as he had been before. “You don’t really want to,” Drew explained. If he got Hope to do anything for him, Drew felt like he’d be raping him. 

“Yes, I do!”

“Yes, he does,” Lyren agreed. “And it wouldn’t be rape. He’s offering; you’re not forcing it on him. Taking advantage of him a little bit, maybe, but isn’t that what he was doing to you before anyway?”

“I guess so…” Lyren wasn’t wrong. Drew had only been allowed to share Hope’s bed in exchange for sex stuff. Hope hadn’t put it that way, but that was what it had been. It wasn’t any different from the arrangement he’d had with Stuart. 

“So can I?” Hope asked. “Please? You don’t have to do me back, I can…”

“Okay,” Drew said, feeling out of breath. He had a pit in his belly and he was so hard it hurt. 

Hope grinned widely and immediately reached out to undo Drew’s pants, freeing him. Drew sighed in relief, then took that breath back in as Hope grabbed him, licked him and kissed his head. “H-Hope…” Drew stuttered. 

Hope licked a little more before taking Drew into his mouth, lips sliding over Drew. Drew watched himself disappear into Hope, fascinated as if Hope hadn’t done this for him before. That had been different. That had been because Hope wanted something in return. This time it was just… “Devotion,” Lyren supplied. “He’s doing it out of devotion. All he wants in exchange is your affection.” 

Drew swallowed, shuddering under Hope’s touch, his warmth. Lyren’s hand was on Drew’s shoulder. “If you knew what he was thinking you’d never doubt again how much he wants this, Drew.” 

“Sh-show me…” Drew asked, overwhelmed. Hope had reached down and was stroking himself inside his pants. 

“Here,” Lyren said, reaching for Drew’s hand. He took it, guided it to Hope’s cheek. Warmth pulsed through Drew. “Concentrate on him.” 

Drew did, and he gasped as sensation flooded into him. Desire, warmth, the feeling of Drew’s hand on his cheek was electrifying, the sounds Drew was making were addictive. He was so happy, so close, he could smell him, taste him, feeling him throbbing…

Drew came with a loud shout, dropping his hand from Hope’s cheek as he thrust up into his warm mouth. Hope made a happy noise as he swallowed Drew down, jerking with his own orgasm inside his pants. 

Hope pulled off after a second, licking Drew clean. “Thank you,” he said, shy. 

Drew chuckled. “Thank you,” he said. “That was really good.” 

Blushing, Hope licked his lips. “I’m glad, Drew. I…”

“Hope?” A male voice called. Magnus, the innkeeper. “What’s going on, I heard a shout. You’d better not be screwing around out here when…oh.” Magnus was a tall southerner who’d come to the north fleeing some invader in his homeland. Drew couldn’t quite get his dick back inside his pants before he appeared and was stuck half inside his clothes with Magnus looking right down at them. Drew stood, tucking himself in, face flaming. “Boys,” Magnus said, hands on his hips. “You really ought not to do that out here. It’s unbecoming.” 

“Will it be a problem for you,” Lyren whispered, “if he tells someone?”

It would be. If he told someone, if it got out that Drew was having sex in courtyards in the middle of the day, if Gavin found out... It was unbecoming for one of the prince’s servants. 

Drew panicked. While Hope started to stutter out an explanation about how much he’d wanted to help Drew, how much he liked Drew—making it worse—Drew realized what he had to do. He hurried forward, took one of Magnus’s hands in his, and got on his toes so he could reach up and put his other hand on Magnus’s head. He concentrated on the warmth in his belly and said, “Magnus.” 

Magnus relaxed just a little, a little smile coming to his face. 

Drew removed his hand, tried to smile back. “It’s okay, right?” he asked. “Hope was just doing me a favour.” 

Magnus laughed. “Of course. That’s what boys do, after all. Nothing to be ashamed about.” 

Drew nodded, relief sweeping through him. “And, and nothing worth telling anyone about, right? Just that’d be embarrassing and I wouldn’t like that…”

“Not to worry,” Magnus told him, patting Drew’s shoulder. “Your secret’s safe with me. When you’re done with Hope, I need him to come in and peel potatoes, okay?”

Drew gave another nod. “Okay. He’s almost done, I think. Thanks, Magnus.” 

With a smile, Magnus turned and went back inside, leaving them alone. 

Sighing, Drew turned around. Lyren was smiling. Hope looked awestruck. “How did you do that?” he asked. “I’ve never gotten him to stop a lecture once he started…”

“I guess he just likes me?” Drew shrugged, heart still pounding. He kissed Hope on the cheek. “Don’t worry about it.” 

“Okay.” Hope grinned. “You’re so cool, Drew. I’m glad I met you.” 

“Me too,” Drew said, nodding. “Um. He wants you inside. I can do the rest of the laundry.” 

“No! No, I’ll do it,” Hope said, hurrying back and sticking his hands in the bucket. 

“If you’re sure,” Drew said, letting him do it.

He stayed with Hope until the laundry was done, then kissed him on the cheek and promised to see him again that night for their walk, before sending Hope off to the kitchen. Then Drew sat down on the grass again, letting out a breath. “Shit,” he muttered. “That was stupid.” 

“You’re okay,” Lyren told him, arms around Drew. “I was impressed by how quickly you did that. It was the right decision.” 

Drew nodded. It had been the only decision. “He doesn’t have as much reason to like me as Hope does,” he whispered. “Does that mean the enthrallment won’t work as well?”

“It means it won’t be as powerful,” Lyren told him. “You need to be more careful about what you ask from him, because he’s more likely to ask why, and that question can break an enthrallment if you ask it too much.” 

“Okay,” Drew said, swallowing bile. “What do I do if it breaks? Or wears off—can it do that?”

“Enthralments are always conditional,” Lyren explained. “And if they’re broken it’s often hard to cast a second one. There won’t be much that the power I’m able to give you could do.” 

Worry burrowed through Drew’s gut. “Is there anything you could do?”

“I don’t think you need to worry,” Lyren said, arms wrapping tighter around Drew. “You’ll be fine. You weren’t doing anything wrong. Even if he tells someone it’s not that big a deal.” 

Drew was still worried. He was worried that if people found out, it would get back to Frederick when they got him. He was worried that Lyren didn’t understand humans when they decided someone was a pervert. “So you can’t do anything.” 

Behind him, Lyren shook his head. “Not like this. If I wasn’t sealed, I could erase his memory, or change it, or put a compulsion spell on him to make him never say anything. I could give you the power to do all that yourself. But not while I’m buried under this rock. You’ve seen me do everything I can do like this.” 

Drew nodded, very aware of the stone underneath the dirt. “Okay,” he said, tugging at the grass. “Thank you, Lyren.”

“For what?”

Drew was quiet, trying to convince himself that he was really okay. “Just…for always helping. I’m glad I met you.” 

“I’m glad I met you too, Drew.” Lyren kissed Drew’s cheek. “Now stop worrying. If something happens, I promise I’ll help you deal with it, okay?”

“Okay.” Drew smiled. He believed Lyren. He believed that Lyren would help him, look out for him. That was what people did for the people who mattered to them. That was what gods did for their believers.


	8. Telling the Truth Is an Important Prerequisite for Making Important Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of news that I'm going to share on all my stories is that with Tumblr's new adult content policy, I've decided not to continue posting the story there any longer. If you have a burning desire to interact with me on social media, there's a series [Discord](https://discordapp.com/invite/YaMctWq) server for chatting with me and other readers, my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HBtUaSPenguin?lang=en) if you only want me in bite-sized chunks, and my [new blog](https://antagonizedpenguin.wordpress.com/) if you want an alternate way to read the chapters. And of course I'll still be posting here first and always! Thanks for all your support! 
> 
> And with that finally out of the way, here's Drew making some decisions.

_“I love you, Drew.”_

_“I love you too, Frederick,” Drew said, between kisses, tasting nothing but Frederick. “I love you so much.”_

_Frederick kissed him again, then started to move down, hands everywhere, touching Drew everywhere. “So much,” he whispered, kissing down Drew’s neck, hand on Drew’s dick._

_Drew lay back and let Frederick do it, loving the feeling, loving the touch, loving Frederick, loving the dream. It was just a dream. It wasn’t real, not Frederick’s hand or his mouth or his body or…_

_“St-stop…” Drew gasped. “Frederick…Lyren, stop.”_

_Frederick stopped, looking up at Drew. “What’s wrong?” he asked, in Lyren’s melodious voice. “Do you not like this?”_

_“It’s not real,” Drew panted. “It’s a dream.”_

_“Dreams can be real,” Lyren countered. “If you let them be.”_

_“B-but…” Drew pushed back, sat up. “It’s not really Frederick. It’s you, not him.”_

_Frederick nodded, featuring sharpening, changing until it was Lyren sitting in front of him. “Sorry,” Lyren said. “I know I’m not what you want. I just thought the dreams would make you happy.”_

_“They do, but…” Was it even true that Lyren wasn’t what Drew wanted? Drew suddenly wasn’t sure. “I just…I don’t want to pretend. If it’s you, I want to do it with you, Lyren.”_

_“All right,” Lyren said, approaching Drew, slowly putting a hand on his chest. “If that’s what you want.”_

_“F-for real,” Drew told Lyren, hand touching Lyren the same way. “Not in a dream.” He was tired of pretending._

_Lyren looked at him for a minute, then smiled. “Okay,” he said._

And Drew woke up, eyes opening in Hope’s bed, the room dark. He could see well enough, though there was no lamp. Hope was snoring on the floor. Lyren was sitting beside him on the bed, petting Drew’s hair. “Are you sure?” he asked. 

Drew nodded, and he pulled the blanket off, sliding his smallclothes down and past his feet, boner slapping his belly. “I want you for real.” 

“As close to real as I can be with no body,” Lyren corrected, sliding over, on top of Drew. For someone with no body, he had weight to him. 

“You’re real,” Drew told him, running his hand down Lyren’s smooth skin. He wanted to kiss him. “You’re real.”

“I’m tricking your body into thinking it can feel me,” Lyren told him, touching Drew’s face. 

“It’s working.” Drew leaned up and gave Lyren that kiss. Lyren kissed him back, and they stayed like that for a while, touching each other everywhere. Drew put a hand on Lyren’s dick, but then glanced over at Hope. 

“It’s okay,” Lyren said. “He won’t wake up. He’s having a good dream.” He wrapped a hand around Drew’s boner, heat emanating from him. 

“He’s dreaming about m-me, isn’t he?” Drew asked, arcing his back in pleasure. 

Lyren smiled, kissed Drew, tongue slipping into his mouth. “Of course.”

Drew didn’t have it in him to care beyond that. He gave Lyren a squeeze, received one in exchange, felt Lyren’s hand on his chest, something caressing both his sides, his face. “Wh-what’s touching me?” Drew asked, breathless. In the dream it had never occurred to him to question when something touched him, no matter how many hands Lyren seemed to have. 

“Do you want to see?” Lyren asked, pulling up a little. He smiled. “I don’t want to scare you.” 

“You don’t scare me, Lyren,” Drew said, flushed. He was curious now. “What is it?” Maybe Lyren had extra arms or something. He wasn’t human so it wasn’t like he had to look like one. 

Lyren nodded, and slowly into view came some…thing. Drew couldn’t tell if they emerged from his arms or his sides or back, but Lyren had half a dozen appendages that wriggled, moving constantly, touching Drew. They looked kind of like…“Tentacles?”

“If you want to call them that,” Lyren agreed. “I didn’t want to alarm you by showing them to you. I can hide them again if they bother you.” 

Hesitantly, Drew reached up and touched one, finding it to have the same texture, the same feel as the rest of Lyren. “No,” he said, smiling at Lyren. “I like them. They’re part of you.” Yes, they were weirder than Drew had been expecting, but he found that it didn’t bother him. 

“I’m glad,” Lyren told him, leaning down to kiss Drew again, the tentacles touching him all over now. He went back to stroking Drew with his hand, one of the tentacles helping out. Drew stroked back, not worrying about making noise since he knew Hope wouldn’t hear him anyway. 

The tentacles wrapped around his arms and legs, holding Drew in place, massaging him. And then one slid between his legs, prodding around, playing with his hole. Waiting. Did Drew want that? Did he want something up there? Lyren wouldn’t hurt him, he knew that. It wasn’t like it was his dick. But did it really matter? He wasn’t Frederick. It wasn’t who Drew wanted, he wasn’t…

But Lyren cared about Drew. Drew knew that for sure. And Drew cared back. And he wanted it. So Drew made up his mind, knowing Lyren could read it. 

Sure enough, the tentacle penetrated him immediately, sliding painlessly inside, spreading warmth. Drew gasped at the sensation, which was so much more than he’d expected, so much hotter, so much fuller, so much…

Drew came with a cry, pulsing with heat as Lyren overcame him took him. He rode a cascade of heat for eternities until it ebbed, and then he was back in the bed, Lyren holding him in place, arms and tentacles wrapped around him. Stroking his hair. “Did you like that?”

Drew nodded blearily. “Did…you?” He didn’t know if Lyren could enjoy it like that. Could he have orgasms with no body?

But Lyren smiled. “I did,” he promised. “I can do a lot like this. I’m glad you wanted this. I did too.” 

Happy, Drew lay there for a while, enjoying the glow. Beside him down on the floor, Hope gave a soft cry and came as well, rolling over in his sleep and hugging his blanket. Drew giggled. “Guess we’re all having a good night.” 

“I guess so,” Lyren said, holding Drew. 

Drew smiled at him, but reluctantly sat up. “I’m going to go clean off real quick.” He’d learned that he didn’t like waking up with the remnants of dried cum on his belly, even if he wiped it off. Besides, he was all sweaty.

So Drew got up, wiped himself off with his dirty shirt and got his smallclothes on, going out to the water trough in the courtyard to rinse his front. 

He was shivering by the time he was done, but Lyren put a hand on his shoulder and that warmed Drew up. “Thanks.” 

“Always,” Lyren promised, smiling. 

“Chilly to be dressed in so little.” 

Drew looked up, alarmed, but it was just Magnus, smiling. He came over to the trough, washing his face. Drew nodded. “I’m okay. Just needed some water.” 

“All down your belly?” Magnus asked, grinning. “You and Hope having some fun in there?”

Drew forced a chuckle, though worry struck him like a hammer. “Yeah.” He held a finger to his lips. 

Magnus snickered, doing the same. “Goodnight, kid.” 

“Goodnight,” Drew said, hurrying away. 

Once they were back in the room, Drew took Lyren’s hand. It seemed so real even if it wasn’t. “He’s going to say something,” Drew whispered. He didn’t think it was important enough to keep secret. He’d tell someone eventually, or make a comment or a joke and someone would figure it out, or…

“Maybe,” Lyren agreed. “But there’s no point in worrying about something that you can’t control.” 

Drew just got into the bed, not able not to worry, mind racing. Lyren held him from behind, and Drew turned to face him in the bed. “Lyren?”

“What is it?” Lyren asked, kissing Drew’s nose. 

Drew smiled. He liked it when Lyren kissed him. “Why did those sorcerers put you here? You said you were a prisoner.” 

That meant Lyren had done something. But he’d said the people who’d trapped him were evil. But with the powers Lyren had, mind control and changing dreams and memories, Drew could easily see how Lyren could have been the bad guy. And that worried Drew. If Lyren was dangerous…

Lyren just looked sad, and he touched Drew’s face. “Oh, Drew,” he sighed. “I wish I could lie to you.” 

“Was it something bad?” Drew whispered. 

Lyren nodded. “I killed a bunch of people.” 

“How many?” It was a stupid question. It didn’t matter how many. 

“Thousands.” Lyren closed his eyes. He looked so hurt. 

“But…” Drew felt sick, wishing that Lyren would let him feel cold. “You said the people who trapped you were evil.” 

“They were. We were at war. Everyone is evil in a war. We…” Lyren paused. “I don’t want to make excuses.” 

Drew shook his head. He didn’t want excuses. “Tell me what happened,” he pressed. Lyren wouldn’t just kill thousands of people. There had to have been a reason. 

Lyren let out a sigh. That sad smile returned as he opened his eyes. “Okay. The war had been going on for over a hundred years. Between humans and gods and demons and…everyone. It started when this man named Nathen decided he wanted to kill everyone. He was a god, so stopping him was our responsibility. To do it, we had to destroy an entire city.” 

“That’s terrible,” Drew said, not able to imagine. Destroying a city, to kill one man? Why?

“It was,” Lyren agreed. “He’d killed our families, our friends. He was going to destroy the world. We told ourselves it was worth it. That it would end the war. But it didn’t. There used to be a tower, right here where this inn stands. It had stood since the beginning of time, an anchor between us gods and the world. After we killed Nathen, after we killed all those humans, two humans came here and destroyed the tower and its guardian.”

“How did…”

“Nobody knows,” Lyren said. “But they did. It was a declaration of a war that was never going to end. I just…wanted it to end. I was tired of fighting, of killing people. And I thought…”

“You thought what?” Drew asked, when Lyren didn’t finish. 

“The humans wanted a god. One god. They started worshipping Nathen. He was a monster, and they worshipped him. I thought…if they wanted a god, they should have one who wasn’t dead, and who didn’t want to destroy them all.” 

Drew understood now, and that understanding pressed on him. “So you did it.” 

Lyren nodded. “I just wanted them to stop fighting. I thought if I gave them what they wanted, if I became the god they needed…so I gathered followers and I brought them here. I was going to rebuild the tower. It was going to be…it was going to be so good. But…” Lyren looked like he wanted to cry. “Nathen’s followers found us. They didn’t want peace.” 

Drew felt a tear slide down his cheek. “They killed them, didn’t they?”

“Yes,” Lyren choked. “All of them. They wouldn’t stop. I tried to make them stop, but they wouldn’t. All my people, all the people who followed me. I asked them to come, and they…” Lyren stopped. 

Drew gave him a minute, aching. “Why didn’t they kill you?” he asked quietly. 

“They tried. But gods are hard to kill and blood is powerful. I was attacking them like…” Lyren shook his head. “They rebounded the power and sealed me. They would have come back to kill me later, but I…I took all of them with me. Their bodies are buried with mine, but they died and I didn’t.” 

“I’m so sorry,” Lyren. Drew said, touching Lyren’s face. He couldn’t even imagine. 

Lyren shook his head, still smiling sadly. “I deserved it. I got everyone killed. It was my fault.” 

“It wasn’t your fault.” Drew couldn’t quite grasp it, the magnitude of what Lyren was saying. That many people dying. It must have been so… “You were just trying to help, Lyren.” 

Lyren nodded. “And look where that got me. And you know the hardest part to swallow? Nathen came back to life. He was here in this inn just a while ago. He’s going to kill everyone again and nobody even knows it yet.” 

“No,” Drew said, feeling his heart race. That was too much, that was…if that person was going to come back then… “I’m going to let you out.” 

“No,” Lyren said, serious. He held Drew’s hand. “No, Drew. Don’t.” 

Drew shook his head. “You don’t deserve to be trapped like that.” Drew believed that. He’d been thinking at first that he’d let Lyren out so Lyren’s power could help him. But now he had a real, unselfish reason to do it. Someone like Lyren didn’t deserve to be trapped for eternity, and besides, if that Nathen person was really back and running around, someone needed to stop him. And Lyren had done it once.

Letting him out was the right thing to do. No matter what it took. 

“Yes,” Lyren insisted. “I do.” 

“No.” Drew shook his head. Lyren was wrong. “I’m letting you out. You can’t stop me, Lyren.” 

“You know what that’s going to mean,” Lyren whispered. “I don’t want you to become a killer for me.” 

“You became one for all of us, though.” Drew smiled, and he kissed Lyren. He knew this was the right decision, he could feel it in his belly. “It’s okay.” 

Lyren sighed, smiled fondly at Drew. “What I am to do with you?”

“I’m your high priest, aren’t I?” Drew asked. “Let me help you.” 

Lyren shook his head. “I want you to sleep. Think about it carefully for a few days. It’s a bad idea—you’d be destroying your own life. You don’t recover from killing someone, even for a good reason. It weighs on you forever.” 

And Drew couldn’t imagine the weight Lyren must be carrying. He sighed. “Okay. I’ll think about it for a bit. But I already know it’s the right thing to do, Lyren.” 

“I wish I was as sure as you, Drew.” Lyren sighed too, and he kissed Drew on the mouth this time. “Okay. Go to sleep, please?”

Drew nodded, resting his head against Lyren’s chest. “If you give me a dream, make it about you, okay?”

“Okay,” Lyren said quietly, and that was the last thing Drew heard before he fell asleep. 

And the last thought Drew had was that he knew he was right. Letting Lyren out was right. 

Because the world needed him. Because Drew needed him.


	9. Rituals Are Most Useful When They're Adapted on One's Needs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, the moment we've all been waiting for.

“You don’t have to do that, Drew,” Hope said, a tone of pleading in his voice. 

Drew stopped what he was doing, looking up at Hope with a smile. “Yes, I do. Don’t worry. I want to do it.” 

“I know you do,” Lyren said, sitting on the edge of the hole Drew was digging in the back of the inn. He’d uncovered a good chuck of the stone sealing Lyren now. “But you shouldn’t.” 

Drew ignored him, continued digging. He’d thought about it for three days. He was ready now. He knew what it meant. He knew the consequences. 

“But it’s…”

“I know you want to help,” Drew said to Hope. “But it’s important to me that I do this on my own.” He wanted to be the one to do it. He was the one letting Lyren out, he didn’t want someone else to do the work for him. 

That didn’t seem like something a high priest should do. 

As Hope sighed, Drew looked up at him. “If you want to help, could you go get me a drink? I’m thirsty.” He’d been working for a while now. 

“Sure,” Hope said, clearly relieved to have something to do. He scurried off, disappearing into the inn. He really did want to serve, it was his natural state. 

Drew kept digging, panting a little with the exertion. It was chilly but he was hot, and the wind kicked up, throwing clouds of earth into Drew’s face. He coughed, covering his mouth. 

“This is a more than big enough hole,” Lyren told him, watching Drew from the edge. “You’ve got more than enough room here to bury a couple of bodies. All you need is enough of the stone for the blood to stain it.” 

Drew nodded. Lyren had already told him that. “I know. But I feel like I should uncover the whole thing. It just seems like…”

Lyren was behind him now, hands on Drew’s sides. “If you’re nervous,” he said. 

“I’m not.” 

“You don’t have to do it,” Lyren continued, ignoring him. “I don’t want you doing this if you aren’t ready.” 

“You don’t want me doing it at all,” Drew told him, pausing in his digging. 

“That’s true. The world is better off without me in it.” 

That made Drew sad, that Lyren thought that. “I don’t think that’s true.” He really didn’t. His life was better with Lyren in it, and he knew everyone else’s would be too. 

Lyren made a noise, shifting into a hug. “Well, you’re pretty smart. I’ll trust your judgement.” 

“So you’re going to let me unseal you?”

“It was never up to me, Drew.” 

Drew started to say something, but was interrupted by a voice. “Boys…” He looked up, heart racing, and saw Magnus standing there with Hope, who was holding a cup of water. “Drew, I’d really rather you asked me before you tore up my courtyard…”

“I’m sorry,” Drew said, trying to seem normal. “But come look at what I found!”

He’d planned this already. This was how he’d planned to lure Magnus out, by pretending he’d found something. But he wasn’t ready, he wasn’t…

“You can still back out, Drew,” Lyren said, tone even. 

“Well,” Magnus said, approaching, stepping into the hole. “I’ll be. Never knew something like this was right under my inn.” He moved further in, and Drew moved behind him, Lyren’s hand on his wrist. 

“It’s super cool, right?” Drew asked, stomach clenching a little. He hoped the quaver in his voice wasn’t that obvious. 

“Yeah…I wonder if it’s a foundation stone from an old building,” Magnus said, kneeling down to get a closer look at the patterns on Lyren’s seal. “They say before Techen’s Stand was here, there was a…”

With a swallowed cry and closed eyes, Drew hit Magnus on the back of the head as hard as he could with the shovel. Silent, Lyren let go of his wrist. 

“Oh, my God,” Hope said, rushing forward, cup of water hitting the ground. Drew lowered the shovel, looking down at Magnus. He was breathing. There was some blood in his hair. “Wh-what did you do? Why did you do that? Why, Drew?”

“Because I…” Drew was shaking. “I have to,” he whispered. 

“But…”

“Go inside, Hope.” Drew looked at Lyren, then headed out of the hole, casting the shovel aside. He went to the wall and retrieved the sharp kitchen knife he’d taken yesterday. 

“What are you going to do with that?” Hope asked as drew returned, afraid. 

Lyren was just standing there beside Magnus, quiet. 

“I’m going to…” Drew dropped to his knees, pressed the knife with shaking hands to Magnus’s throat, holding him by his hair. “I’m going to kill him.”

“But why?” Hope asked, a tear running down his face. He kept looking between Drew and Magnus, and Drew remembered what Lyren had said about ‘why’ being a question that could break an enthrallment. It didn’t matter. “H-he’s nice! He’s a nice man, Drew. You don’t have to…”

“Yes,” Drew said, also crying. “I do.” This was the only way. The only way to free Lyren. Lyren was watching closely. 

“Why do you want to…”

“I don’t. But I have to.” 

“Drew…”

“Go inside, Hope,” Drew whispered. “I don’t want you out here. I don’t want you to watch.” Watch while he killed Magnus, cut his throat. His hand shook. 

“I’m not leaving you alone.” 

“I’m never alone.” Drew didn’t look at Lyren. He couldn’t. He couldn’t move. 

“Drew, please…”

“Go inside!” Drew shouted, squeezing his eyes shut again. He had to do it, he had to do it now before he couldn’t. But he couldn’t with Hope watching. “I don’t want you here, you idiot! You’re so stupid, I don’t, I don’t even…like you…” Shaking all over, Drew crumbled, dropped Magnus’s head and ducked his own, sobbing. “I can’t,” he cried. “I can’t do it, I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” Lyren said, hand on Drew’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Drew. You’re good. You’re a good person.” 

“Drew…” Hope was right beside him, arm around Drew, holding him. “It’s okay,” he said, coaxing the knife out of Drew’s hand. “It’s okay. You’re okay. You don’t have to do it.” 

“I’m sorry,” Drew whispered, sick, to Hope, to Magnus, to Lyren. He’d failed, he couldn’t do it. He was useless. What was even the point of him? The most important thing in his life and he couldn’t do it. “I’m sorry…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lyren told him softly. “I told you, you’re too good. Too special. Too perfect for something ugly like this.” 

“It’s okay,” Hope said, taking the knife away. He let Drew go, reached out for Magnus. 

“But he’s not.”

“I’ll do it for you.” 

“What?” Drew asked, looking up. Hope was holding Magnus’s head, pressing the knife to his throat. 

“So you don’t have to.” 

“Hope, don’t!” This wasn’t what Drew wanted, it wasn’t…

“I’m sorry,” Hope said to Magnus, as Drew tried to pull his arm away. Why was he so strong? “Drew needs me to do it.” 

“No!”

And as Drew screamed, Hope scraped the knife across Magnus’s throat, opening it up, blood pouring everywhere as he cut Magnus’s veins and arteries. He cried the whole time. 

“Hope…” Drew said, unable to say anything else as blood pooled into the patterns on the seal, converging in the centre. 

The ground shook. Cracks spread through the stone. Lyren was gone.

Drew lurched to his feet, grabbed Hope. “We have to move,” he said, pulling him away from the body. 

“Did I…did I do good?” Hope asked, distant, as Drew tugged him away. A crack opened under Magnus’s body, swallowing him. The air was full of dust. “Are you happy, Drew? I just wanted…”

Whatever he’d wanted was drowned out as the sealstone crumbled all at once, a loud crash filling the air and dust filling their nostrils and mouths. 

Even as Drew coughed, the smoke cleared in a gust of wind and there, in a field of rubble and bones, stood Lyren. He looked exactly the same but completely different, beautiful and terrible and unreal and so, so present. Drew couldn’t take his eyes away. 

“Oh, my God…” Hope whispered, clinging to Drew. 

“Yes,” Drew agreed, squeezing Hope’s arm, “he is.” 

Lyren took a step, walking over the broken ground as if it were flat, approaching them. 

He smiled. “Kneel.” 

Behind Drew, Hope did, instantly dropping to his knees into the dirt. Watching Lyren, Drew did the same, wanting nothing more than to…

Lyren reached them, put his hand on Drew’s chin. “Not you, Drew. Never you.” He pulled Drew up, to his feet, smiling warmly. And Drew felt safe. Lyren slowly knelt himself, holding Drew’s hand. “Masters don’t kneel before their servants.” 

“No,” Drew whispered, shaking his head. “No, Lyren, I’m not.” He pulled Lyren to his feet, so they were both standing. 

Lyren kissed him on the mouth, the gentlest thing Drew had ever felt. “You’re my high priest, aren’t you?”

“I…you don’t want me,” Drew said, sure of that. A high priest was someone important. Someone…

“Yes, I do,” Lyren said, interrupting Drew’s thoughts. “You’re the only one I want, Drew, you know that. You’re…”

“Special,” Drew finished. He…he knew that. He knew he was special. 

Lyren nodded, pleased. “Being high priest is a lot of responsibility. And a lot of power. Do you believe you deserve that, Drew?”

“Yes,” Drew said, a tear running down his cheek. “I do.”

“Good. I do too.” Lyren smiled, patted Drew’s cheek. “I’ll give it to you. Bet there are rules I can’t break.” 

“Gods have rules?” Drew asked, confused, overwhelmed. He could still hear the cracking of the stone in his head. Surely Lyren could do whatever he wanted. 

“The universe has rules, Drew. Everyone has to obey them.” He smiled. “In order to give you something, I have to take something at the same time.” 

The look in Lyren’s eyes, gold flecked with red, was serious, heavy. And Drew knew what he meant. He understood, without Lyren saying anything. Drew understood what this would cost him. He understood. And Drew nodded, swallowing. “Do it. Take it.” 

“Are you sure?” Lyren put his hands on Drew’s shoulders. “I can’t ever give it back if you change your mind.” 

“I won’t,” Drew swore, sure. “I won’t, Lyren. Take it.” 

Lyren nodded, hearing Drew’s conviction, and put his hand on Drew’s chest. His tentacles were out, sliding up Drew’s arms. 

“Hope,” Drew said, eyes not leaving Lyren’s. “Go inside.” 

“No,” Lyren disagreed, holding his other hand out in Hope’s direction. “Stay.” 

“Lyren?” They didn’t need him. He was just going to be in the way. Hope was looking up at the two of them from his knees, obviously unsure who to listen to. 

Two of Lyren’s tentacles reaches over for Hope, sliding into his clothes. “A high priest needs lesser priests,” Lyren explained, still looking at Drew and nothing else. 

“But…” It was hard to think with Lyren’s hand on him, with Lyren’s tentacles sliding around his torso, down the waistband of his pants. “Does…does he want…”

“I do,” Hope said immediately, trembling under Lyren’s touch. “I do, Drew, please. I w-want…to help you. I want to be with you. That’s why I…please, let me…”

Drew looked down at Hope. He looked so desperate, so needy. So ordinary. So small. He’d killed someone he knew and cared about for Drew. He’d do anything to make Drew happy. All he wanted was for Drew to like him. 

It was pathetic. Drew felt bad for him. 

So he smiled, reached down and stroked Hope’s cheek. “Okay,” he said, nodding once. “You can stay if that’s what you want.” 

Hope’s face just lit right up like Drew had given him a candy. “Thank you,” he wept. “Thank you, so much, Drew. I love you.”

Drew was brought short by that, looking at Hope. He didn’t have an answer to it, but Hope was looking at him expectantly, so he said, “I, I love you too, Hope.” He said it even though it wasn’t true. “I’m sorry for what I said before. I didn’t mean it.” 

“Thank you,” Hope said, tears tracking down his cheeks. 

“Okay,” Drew told Lyren, looking away from Hope. “I’m ready.” 

The tentacles around Drew contracted, constricting him. Lyren smiled. “Okay. It will hurt, but only for a second, I promise.” Before Drew could answer, the tentacles started to draw out pulling, tugging, tearing Drew’s clothes to pieces until they fell away, leaving him naked. Drew felt like he should care but he didn’t, not as every part of him that Lyren was touching tingled and sparked, sending shocks of pleasure through him. 

Hope’s clothes had torn away too and he had his eyes shut, panting as the tentacles massaged his skin, one wrapped around his dick and one sliding up inside him. Drew was just mildly jealous, but then he felt himself being probed, stretched by a tentacle, then entered. Lyren’s hand was on his chest still, and the other on Drew’s face as Lyren leaned in and kissed Drew while the tentacle slid inside him, easily despite not being wet. Another wrapped around his dick, slowly stroking him. “Just me,” Lyren told him softly. “Don’t pay attention to him for now, just me.” 

Drew nodded, letting out a small noise, focusing on the sensations all over his body, washing over him, flooding him. His body started to burn, to burn away, his every part aflame under Lyren’s touch. At some point a second tentacle penetrated him, filling him so much, stretching Drew father than he thought possible. But it didn’t hurt like Lyren had said it would, it just felt good, it just _felt_.

The two tentacles were sliding in and out of Drew, taking turns hitting something inside him that sent pulses of fire through his everything, the tentacle on his dick gripping him firmly, stroking hard, and Drew felt like he might die if Lyren kept going. 

Then it stopped, the tentacles leaving him at once. Drew opened his eye, saw Lyren before him. “I’m going to do it now,” Lyren warned. And when Drew nodded, something else slide inside him, smaller and hotter than the tentacles, and it burned, and Lyren’s hand burned and everything _burned._

It hurt now, like Lyren had promised it would, not just between Drew’s legs but everywhere, all over his body, all through his body. Lyren was inside every part of him, filling him with a painful fire, ripping Drew open. And Drew screamed, but he didn’t want it to stop, he couldn’t take the hurt but he wanted it, he was going to die but he hoped it never stopped, he hoped, he wanted, he felt…

“Say my name, Drew.”

“L-Lyren…”

“My real name.” 

Drew didn’t, Drew didn’t know Lyren’s real name. But he did, it filled his mind just like Lyren filled his body, until it was all he could think about and he opened his mouth to scream in a broken voice, “Lyren Techen De’Carden!”

“Thank you, Drew,” Lyren said, and with one final push of fire, Drew felt like something was being ripped from him body and he threw back his head and cried out in agony as he came, his voice joining Lyren’s as Lyren came inside him, filling him with more than seed, replacing what he’d taken with a heavy thrum that filled Drew completely. 

Spent, panting, no longer hurting, Drew looked up at Lyren. He was beautiful, and Drew smiled at him. “I love you,” he said, and he meant it. 

“I love you too, Drew,” Lyren said, touching his cheek. “You did so well. Can you feel it now? Your power?”

Drew nodded, floating on contentment. “Yeah.” It flowed through him, real as his blood. “It’s…nice. It feels like you. I feel like you.” 

“You’ll get used to that,” Lyren told him, laughing a little bit. He tilted Drew’s head sideways, angling him towards Hope, still writhing under Lyren’s tentacles. “He doesn’t want me,” Lyren said in Drew’s ear. “He wants you. He wants to be yours, not mine. Will you give him what he wants?”

Drew felt it, the intent behind Lyren’s words, more being communicated than just what Lyren was saying. And he nodded. “I will,” he said. 

Lyren nodded, pulled out of Drew, and Drew whimpered at the loss. At the same time, though, Drew could still feel Lyren inside him, and knew he always would. The tentacles still wrapped around Drew moved him, set him down in front of Hope. Hope was leaned back, legs spread, and Lyren withdrew his tentacle from Hope’s hole, leaving it open. Leaving it open for Drew. 

Drew slid inside easily, thrusting inexpertly, but that didn’t matter. Hope moaned loudly, a sound of relief and gratitude, and he put his arms around Drew, face a mask of ecstasy as Drew fucked him. 

Drew didn’t know how long they went, but he felt himself building, Lyren’s hand on his back, and with a few final hard thrusts, Drew came inside of Hope, letting out another loud cry of pleasure as he filled Hope, feeling some of his power leave him, flow into Hope as he made Hope his, and as Hope happily accepted that, he came too, shooting a mess up between them. 

Hope looked up at Drew, obviously happy as he’d ever been, and Drew touched his face like Lyren had touched his. “Are you okay?”

Hope nodded, the look on his face one of utter devotion. “Yeah…I’m so happy, Drew…”

“Me too, Hope,” Drew said, and he kissed Hope. “Me too.” Drew had never been happier, more content, than he was today. 

Lyren’s tentacles moved them again, pulling Drew out of Hope and standing them both up. He kissed Drew. “Thank you,” he said, sincerity filling his voice. “I owe you everything, Drew.” 

“You don’t owe me anything,” Drew disagreed. “You’ve already given me everything.” 

Lyren laughed, hand brushing Drew’s. “You have no idea. I’ll teach you to think bigger, Drew.” 

Smiling, Drew ducked his head. Then he looked at himself, at Hope, both naked and cum splattered. And he looked around at the courtyard, destroyed. “We should clean up before someone sees all this.” 

“Don’t worry about that,” Lyren said, waving a hand. The courtyard shimmered, and went back to the way it had been, as if nothing had happened. The rubble, the bones, the hole, Magnus, it all disappeared. 

“It’s just an illusion,” Drew said, because it was. He knew Lyren’s power now. He knew what it felt like, what it could do. Lyren hadn’t actually expended the power necessary to fix all this. 

“Consider it a floorplan,” Lyren said, smiling. He looked at Hope. “Your priest can organize a work crew among the congregation, get them to fix it nicely. Won’t take long.” 

“We…don’t have a congregation,” Drew said, looking around. But even as he said it, he understood what Lyren meant. 

“Of course we do.” Lyren was looking around as well, but seeing something beyond the walls. “Can’t you feel them?”

Drew closed his eyes, and he could. Beyond the courtyard, lights that he could feel, dim. People. Everyone in Techen’s Stand. Souls. 

A flock. 

Drew opened his eyes, looking at Lyren. Lyren was still smiling at him. “I put them to sleep when I woke up,” he said. “They’re waiting for you to come wake them up.” 

Drew swallowed. “Should we get dressed?” He already knew that answer. 

“Why? It’s not for the flock to question its high priest.” Lyren touched Drew’s hand, and Hope’s. “I think this is perfect priestly garb, don’t you?”

“Alright,” Drew giggled. He let Lyren link his hand with Hope’s, smiling at his priest, then at his god in turn. “Let’s go.” 

Linked together in more ways than the eye could see, the three of them left the church to go meet their worshippers.


	10. Is There Anyone More Dangerous Than the Ambitious Servant Whom Nobody Sees?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the end of the story! I hope you guys enjoyed--I'm really happy with the way this all turned out, and I've been really happy with the response as well! It was a slightly different kind of story for me, but I ended up really enjoying writing it. 
> 
> One thing I want to note is that if you're following along with the series generally, this chapter takes place chronologically in the future of the rest of the series for now--it will be pretty obvious what I mean when you read the chapter, but rest assured that it's not a continuity error or anything; I intentionally skipped several weeks between the last chapter and this one and I intentionally set this chapter in the future of all the stories with which it's eventually going to meet up. 
> 
> With that out of the way, thanks so much for reading this story! As always, I'm super excited by and happy to have your guys's constant support even as I just keep writing with no intention of stopping. This story was special to me, so I'm grateful to all of you for reading it! 
> 
> And don't worry, of course this isn't the last we're going to see of Drew and Lyren. :)

“Hey, Stuart.” 

Stuart smiled at Drew, looking up from his laundry. The prince and his retinue were back, and they’d be leaving Techen’s Stand soon. “Hey, Drew.”

Drew set down the basket of laundry he had in his hands. “The prince has all this laundry that needs washing. Could you do it for me?”

“Of course!” Stuart said happily, bobbing his head. 

“Thanks,” Drew said. He leaned up and kissed Stuart on the cheek, patting his head, then turned and headed back inside. The inn’s common room was full with the prince’s people, and Lyren was standing near the back wall, invisible unless he wanted to be seen, which he didn’t. He was watching the young treasure hunter who was one of the prince’s new friends, sitting at a table and chatting with someone Drew didn’t know yet. “Be careful,” Drew warned him. 

“I’m being careful,” Lyren said, nodding. According to him, that man was Nathen in disguise, and as a result he had to avoid using any power that might let him be detected. He wasn’t powerful enough to attack Nathen directly, he said. “You be careful too.” 

Drew nodded as well. He wasn’t about to give Lyren away by being dumb. Aside from a few minor, unnoticeable enthrallments like the one he had on Stuart, he wasn’t using any of the power Lyren had given to him. He didn’t really need it anyway. Everyone in Techen’s Stand would do as he said without intervention from him. He’d told them all to act like nothing had changed until the visitors left. To anyone passing through, everything in the little town seemed exactly the same as it had been before. To look at it, nobody would know that all of them were new converts to an old religion. 

“Have you decided yet?” Lyren asked. “Will we be going with them when they leave?”

“Yeah,” Drew told him. He’d thought about not going, staying here and focusing on Lyren’s church. It was more important than Gavin’s laundry. It was more important than anything. Lyren needed to accumulate power, and to do that, he needed converts. And for those, he needed Drew and his priests. 

He had five now, including Hope. Giving out power was tiring and Drew could only do it to a few people without exhausting himself. So he’d had to choose carefully. Two brothers named Aiden and Alexi had been first, Hope had suggested them. Then a boy named Robby, who Lyren said was going to develop magic in a year or so. Last had been Matt, who was a few years older than Drew and was prone to sneezing fits, but who had a compelling and easy to listen to voice. 

Drew could have made anyone a priest if they’d wanted it, but it turned out he liked boys a lot, and he especially liked taking their clothes off to grant them his power. So all his priests were cute boys. Like Lyren, Drew would get stronger with more congregants, and then he’d be able to make more priests. But it was just those five for now. 

“Because of Frederick, right?” Lyren asked him, smiling fondly. 

“Yes,” Drew said, shrugging. He and Lyren didn’t lie to each other. They couldn’t. And they didn’t get jealous. There was no point. “I want to see him again.” He couldn’t wait to see Frederick again. He felt like they were on the same level now. 

“Will you make a priest of him?”

Drew bit his lip, looked at the ground. “I don’t know. I’d rather not. I’d rather not have him work under me.” He wanted to be Frederick’s equal, not his superior. 

Lyren nodded, brushing Drew’s hand. “That’s understandable. That’s how I feel about you.” 

Drew blushed, smiling at Lyren. “Frederick isn’t the only reason,” he said. “I was thinking. There are a lot of people in the capital. A lot of converts.” He could grow Lyren’s church more effectively there than here where the only new people were occasional travellers. 

Lyren nodded. “You’ll need to be careful. You’ll be right under the nose of the Catechism, and their god,” he said, nodding in Nathen’s direction. 

Drew knew that. He also knew that things worth doing were risky. “I know. But it’s worth it. And I’ll be careful. You’ll be there with me, and I’ll bring Aiden and Alexi and Robby and Hope.” He was going to leave Matt here and instruct him to start organizing the townspeople to build a tower. He couldn’t leave Techen’s Stand without a priest. 

“Are…” Lyren looked up. “They’re looking for you.” 

Drew looked over, saw Sir Owen at the bottom of the stairs, eyes on Drew. “See you,” Drew promised Lyren, heading over to Sir Owen, who was moving his hand in conversation with the werewolf he and the prince had with them now. “Are you looking for me, Sir Owen?” Drew asked, giving the werewolf—who was about his age—a smile. His name was Darby. He was cute. 

“Uh, yeah,” Sir Owen said, looking down at Drew. “Can you head upstairs? Gavin wants to see you.” 

“Of course. Does the prince need something?”

“He always needs something,” Sir Owen said, rolling his eyes. “Being his attendant must be such a pain.”

Drew snickered. “I don’t mind, sir. I’m happy to see to all his needs.” 

Sir Owen nodded, seeming satisfied with that. Had he been testing Drew? Drew could try reading his mind to find out, but he needed more practice and he didn’t want to get caught. “Well, that’s good to hear,” Sir Owen said. “Go on up.”

Drew did, heading up the stairs. “Why do you still play the servant to them?” Lyren asked, now at the top of the stairs. Space didn’t work the same way for him that it did for humans. “You don’t need to do that.” 

Drew just smiled at him, knocked once on the prince’s door, and went inside. “You asked for me, your Highness?” Drew asked, hands clasped in front of him. 

The prince was sitting at the room’s little table, writing something. “I did,” he said, looking up at Drew. “Come in, sit down here.” 

Drew tried not to frown. It didn’t sound like Gavin wanted something. At least, not an errand. He did as he was told, taking the second chair. “Your Highness?”

“How long have you been a castle servant, Drew?” he asked. 

“Five or six years,” Drew told him. “Since I was little.” 

Gavin nodded. “I feel like I remember seeing you carrying things around. You and that boy my brother’s kidnapped.” 

“Frederick?” That was a strange way to put Frederick’s promotion. 

“That’s him. Franz’s page. Are you two friends?”

“Yes, your Highness,” Drew said with a confident nod.

“Must bother you, then,” the prince said. “To see him promoted and everything. Page to a prince and all.” 

It did, a bit. But not because of jealousy. “No, your Highness. I’m just happy to help however I can.” 

“I see. And he doesn’t lord it over you? Tease you about how he’s moving up in the world?”

“No,” Drew said, shaking his head just as confidently now. “He wouldn’t do that. He’s nice.” Frederick wouldn’t tease him, not in a mean way. 

A snort from the prince. “What kind of friends don’t tease each other? But okay. Tell me something you don’t like about me.” 

Drew blinked. “Your Highness?”

Gavin smiled. “Contrary to popular perception, Drew, I do actually know exactly how much of a pain in the ass I am. I know you’ve got a list of things I do that piss you off. Tell me one.” 

Drew was speechless. He had not expected this. “Uh…” Gavin was watching him, eyes sharp. He’d know if Drew lied. “You…always have cum on your clothes,” he blurted out. 

“Excuse me?” Gavin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Bright red, Drew nodded. It was the first thing that had come to mind. “Always! All your laundry that I’ve ever washed. I don’t understand why you can’t use one thing to clean up with like a normal person!” Drew blinked, gulped. “Um. Sir.” 

Well, so much for Drew’s career. Maybe he could erase Gavin’s memory of that. Probably nobody would notice. 

Gavin looked at him a second, and then burst out laughing. “I can see,” he chuckled, “I can see how that would frustrate you. Oh, God. That’s amazing. I have to tell Owen that. It’s mostly his fault. He can’t keep his hands off me.” 

“Um. Yes, your Highness.” He didn’t seem too annoyed. Or annoyed at all. He was a bit weird, the prince. 

“Anyway,” the prince said, calming down a little. “I was unsure about having you on my retinue. I’ve never had a personal servant as young as you. I was worried Owen and I might traumatize you, with, you know, all of the clothes staining.” 

“It doesn’t…bother me, sir,” Drew muttered. It didn’t really. Even before his time here in Techen’s Stand, it hadn’t. 

Gavin nodded. “Good. You’ve done very well. I’m very happy with your service.” 

“Thank you, your Highness!” Good. Frederick would be happy to hear that.

Gavin was smiling at him. “I was thinking of getting you to continue it after we get back to the capital. Maybe put you back on equal footing with Frederick before he changes his mind about teasing you.”

“Sir?”

“Do you want to be my page, Drew?”

Drew’s heart skipped, and so did his breath. “Y-yes! I’d, yes, I’d like that a lot!”

Snickering, Gavin reached over and poked Drew on the cheek. “Happy to help however you can, my ass. You wanted that.” 

Drew reddened, embarrassed to have put on such an unseemly display. He cleared his throat. “Um. Yes, your Highness. I did. Sorry about that.” 

“Don’t be sorry for being excited. One thing I can’t stand is people who use my last name as an excuse to act like someone they’re not. It’s why I like Owen. Besides,” Gavin added with a smile. “You’ve seen me do all kinds of unseemly things to him. I think it’s fine if I get to see you have one excitable moment.” 

Drew giggled. “I guess so, sir.” He was so happy, he felt like he was breathing bubbles. 

“You realize I’ll be spending the next several years teasing you relentlessly, right?” Gavin asked him. “Just to be very clear. I’m still a dick.” 

“That’s okay, sir. I like dicks.” Drew said it, heard himself and heated up, trying to hide his face, in that order. 

Gavin laughed. “That’s nice and convenient, then. Me too.” 

Drew just sat there and blushed, not saying anything. He couldn’t even claim not to have meant it like that.

Gavin smiled, and he rolled up the paper he’d been writing with and sealed it. Then he handed it to Drew. “Will you go take this to the messenger?”

“Of course, sir,” Drew said, happy for the change of subject. He took the paper and rose. 

Gavin nodded. “Come back when you’re done. I want us to get to know each other a little.” He smirked. “Maybe we can talk about our mutual appreciation for dicks.”

Blushing again, Drew nodded. “Y-yes, sir. I’ll be right back.” 

“I’ll be waiting.”

Drew nodded. Then he remembered. Happy as he was, this wasn’t what mattered. So before he lost his nerve, Drew focused on the heat in his belly, turned and put his hand on Gavin’s. “Your Highness,” he said, “you remember my friends, right? Hope, Alexi, Aiden and Robby?”

Expression a little clouded, Gavin nodded. “Of course I do.” 

Drew smiled. “You don’t have a problem if they come with us to the capital, right?”

Gavin laughed. “Obviously not. They go everywhere with you, don’t they?”

“Yeah,” Drew said. “They do. Thanks." And he let Gavin’s hand go, heading for the door. “I’ll be right back, sir.” 

“I’ll be waiting,” Gavin promised again, and he waved as Drew shut the door, sighing. 

“You could have done a lot more than that without detection,” Lyren said, beside the door. “You could have converted him, convinced him to do anything. He was under your power.” 

Drew nodded, heading for the stairs. “I know,” he said. “I don’t want him under my power. If the prince suddenly converts to a religion nobody’s heard of, it’s too obvious. Princes draw too much attention. Nathen would notice.” 

“You’re right,” Lyren conceded. “But alone with him, you could have had him kneeling. Why do you still want to serve him?”

“He just gave me everything I want, Lyren.” 

“I know,” Lyren smiled, reaching over and touching the back of Drew’s neck, which tingled. For just a second Drew could see that black thread again. And a few others—he wasn’t the only one with one. Parry had one, and so did one of the people who Gavin had brought with him from the west. “And you didn’t even need my power to get it. I told you, everything you want will come to you someday. If being Gavin’s page is what you want, that’s what you’ll have. Just like everything else.” 

“Because I deserve it, I know,” Drew grinned as Lyren dropped his hand, and the thread and the tingling faded, and when it was gone it was replaced with a memory of something he and Lyren had talked about the other day. “And I want it to come to me on its own, not because of your power.” 

“It’s your power,” Lyren said, as Drew re-entered the common room. “But I take your point.” 

Drew nodded. “Is he gone?”

“Yes, the thread’s vanished.” 

“Okay.” 

“We’ll get rid of him eventually,” Lyren promised. 

“But we need him for now.” 

“Yes. I’m sorry.” 

Drew smiled. Sacrifices were going to have to be made in order to get what they wanted. And one of them was that Drew had to put up with his body being used like a puppet by some creature who didn’t care about him except to spy on the prince. Lyren had told him about it, but Drew couldn’t remember it or they’d risk Klaus knowing that they were on to him, which would put him in danger. That was one of the reasons he was staying a servant, to avoid Klaus’s attention. But it wasn’t the main reason, the reason Drew had when he couldn’t remember Klaus existed. “It’s okay. Take it away again.” 

Lyren nodded and brushed a hand over Drew’s head, and Drew forgot what they’d been talking about. “It’s my power, but you gave it to me. It’s the same as if it were yours.” 

“It’s not. I can’t take it away again, it’s yours forever now. You could use it against me if you wanted.” 

“I don’t,” Drew promised. He headed for the door, stopping Hope on the way there. He was busy lately now that he was the innkeeper. They were the only two who remembered Magnus existed, and only because the memory was too ingrained in Hope’s consciousness to erase without hurting him. The outsiders knew, of course, but they’d been told that he’d died with no details. “When you see the others,” Drew told Hope, “let them know you’re all coming with me to the capital. Not Matt. I’ll talk to him later.” 

Hope nodded, grinning. “Okay. I can’t wait.” 

“Me either,” Drew said, kissing him on the cheek. “Back to work.” 

They broke apart, and Drew headed outside. “You never answered my question,” Lyren said, as Drew headed for the stables and found the messenger. “Why do you still want to play the servant so much?”

“Watch,” Drew said. He headed over to the messenger, handed him the paper. “From the prince,” he said. 

“Yeah, okay.” The man took the roll without turning, and said nothing else. 

Drew turned, headed back without a word.

“He didn’t even look at you,” Lyren commented, obviously annoyed. 

“I know.” Drew took Lyren’s hand, kissed it. “You and I have something important to do, Lyren. It’s going to be hard and dangerous and if someone sees us before we’re ready we’ll die. We need to stay invisible for as long as we can. Watch what happens when I go inside.” 

“Okay.” 

Drew did, slipping into the inn. A few people looked up, saw him, dismissed him. Nathen was one of them. Most didn’t even look up. “Do you see?”

“They’re not watching you. They should be.” 

“Not yet. No magic, no power, nothing detectable. Nobody cares that I exist and I don’t have to do anything to make it that way.” Drew smiled at Lyren, moving unseen through a room that contained his enemies. “I’m playing the servant because if I’m going to do this for you, I need to be invisible. And there’s nobody in the world more invisible than a common servant.” 

And with Lyren at his side, Drew went back to work, invisible in plain sight.


End file.
